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Saints Jerome and Mary Magdalen

Saints Jerome and Mary Magdalen are two sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, now placed in the Chigi Chapel of Siena Cathedral. They were commissioned by Fabio Chigi, later Pope Alexander VII. Bernini began work in 1661, and the sculptures were transported from Rome to Siena in 1663. He received 2,128 scudi for them, although the works were probably executed with substantial help from his workshop. Scholars have interpreted the figures as sharing a mystical experience, with the statues appearing to break beyond the niche and turn away from earthly concerns toward something higher and transcendent.

Saints Jerome and Mary Magdalen marble statues in arched niches with dark columns, showing Jerome holding a cross and Magdalen gazing upward.
Saints Jerome and Mary Magdalen by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, shown in their arched niches.
October 2011 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Saint Jerome sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, showing a bearded figure in flowing robes holding a cross and standing with one foot on a lion\'s head.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini\'s Saint Jerome shown in a dramatic marble niche, with the saint clutching a cross and standing on a lion\'s head.
October 2011 © sailko · CC BY-SA 3.0
Saints Jerome and Mary Magdalen in white marble, shown in an ornate arched niche with the figure in a contemplative pose.
White marble sculpture of Saints Jerome and Mary Magdalen displayed in an ornate niche.
October 2011 © sailko · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleSaints Jerome and Mary Magdalen
TypeTwo marble sculptures
Depicted figuresSaint Jerome and Saint Mary Magdalene
Original titlesI Santi Girolamo e Maria Maddalena; Saints Jérôme et Marie Madeleine; São Jerónimo e Maria Madalena

Creator

ArtistGian Lorenzo Bernini
Artist nationalityItalian
Chapel designerGian Lorenzo Bernini

Historical context

Commissioned byPope Alexander VII (Fabio Chigi)
Commissioned forthe Chigi Chapel project
Date of creation1661–1663

Discovery and provenance

Payment to Bernini2,128 scudi
AttributionProbably not carved solely by Bernini; substantial workshop assistance was likely
Associated chapel sculpturesSaint Catherine of Siena by Ercole Ferrata and Saint Bernard of Siena by Antonio Raggi, both by artists from Bernini's workshop
Transported to Siena1663
Made inRome
Work completed1663
Work began1661

Physical characteristics

Number of sculpturesTwo
MaterialMarble
PoseSinuous contrapposto

Appearance

Emotional toneMystical, contemplative, and sensual
Mary Magdalene depictionShown in mystical collapse or emotional rapture, with her head tilted back and her lips slightly parted
Saint Jerome depictionAn elderly, bearded Jerome embracing a crucifix and pressing Christ's face on the crucifix against his cheek; a lion at his feet is caressed by his foot

Iconography and meaning

Saint Jerome symbolismThe crucifix and lion emphasize absolute love, humility, and meekness
InterpretationThe figures are presented as undergoing a mystical vision or spiritual experience, absorbed in their own spiritual spaces rather than the physical world around them
Howard Hibbard interpretationThe statues seem to emerge from the niche itself, suggesting Jerome and Mary Magdalene are not bound to earthly reality but refer to something higher and transcendent
Rudolf Wittkower interpretationHe described an 'intensification of the visionary quality' in the statues

Location and ownership

Current locationChigi Chapel, Siena Cathedral, Siena, Italy
Installed inthe Chigi Chapel
Current statusOn display there to this day

History and restoration

Preparatory drawing for Mary MagdalenePreserved at the Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig
Terracotta sketch for Jerome's headPreserved at the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University