A parishioner, Joseph Terry, posted this stunning image on social media this morning, from Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate de Nice:
I had never seen this moment depicted in this way. Just beautiful.
It shows the women preparing Jesus for burial — with Mary Magdalene on the bottom, embracing his feet (drawing a connection, perhaps, to Luke 7:37).
The original Twitter post didn’t include any details about the artist or the story behind the image, but some Googling turned up this item. Voila! The image is part of a triptych by artist Hugo Bogo added to the cathedral a few years ago — each image depicting a key moment in the life of Mary Magdalene:
The equestrian order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem was entrusted with the animation of one of the chapels of the cathedral of old Nice. This order deals with the Christian community in the Holy Land in the form of various charitable activities intended also for all the communities on the spot. The bishop of Nice in consultation with the order of chivalry entrusted to the Nice artist Hugo Bogo the creation of three original works to illustrate and decorate this chapel, which burned on December 25, 1986.
The painter worked in consultation with the religious authorities especially concerning the iconography of the works. Jerusalem and the tomb of Christ being at the center of the themes related to the order of the Holy Sepulcher.
The triptych represents Jesus lying on the left and Mary Magdalene crying at his feet (picture of 2.3m by 1.7m).
The central painting represents the appearance of Christ (3m x 1.8m) and finally the work on the right represents Mary Magdalene running to announce to the disciples that Jesus is alive (2.3m by 1.7m).
Kudos and a grateful diaconal bow to Joe Terry for sharing this with us!
