Treviso, more than 100 works by great artists tell the sublime love between Mary Magdalene and Christ

From April 5 to July 13, 2025, the Museo Civico di Santa Caterina in Treviso will host the exhibition Magdalene and the Cross. Sublime Love to tell through more than one hundred works how great artists have addressed the emotional potential and themes of passion, suffering, devotion, redemption and love around the figures of Christ and Mary Magdalene.

The twelve rooms of the exhibition itinerary organized in as many sections invite one to embark on a twofold journey: the first leading through artistic creation following the evolution with which art has represented and interpreted thatsublime Love; the second, more personal and intimate, explores a universal dimension of spirituality, embodied by Magdalene. This figure becomes a symbol with which everyone can identify: her journey, from difficulty and fall to conversion and finally redemption, offers a model of transformation and rebirth. Magdalene becomes the spokesperson for a universal message of spirituality but also of hope, trust and love.

The exhibition will present a selection of works covering a span of time from the 13th to the 20th century, demonstrating the theme’s enduring fascination with the figurative arts and underscoring the universality of its scope, capable of renewal over time and inspiring generations of artists throughout Europe. Among the masterpieces are the Bolognese miniatures of the Bible of St. Paul, through the great Renaissance painting, with Bellini, Jan Polack, Titian, Paolo Veronese, Jacopo Bassano, Giampietrino, Palma the Younger, Guercino to Bernardo Strozzi, Ludovico Carracci, Carlo Saraceni, Tintoretto, Sebastiano Ricci, Mattia Bortoloni, Rutilio Manetti, Antonio Canova, Gaetano Previati, Moses Bianchi, and Alberto Martini, to whom a tribute is reserved on his centenary.
These paintings will also be joined by wooden sculptures, vestments and fine goldsmithing from the early Renaissance.

The narrative around Mary Magdalene offers an extraordinary overview of theevolution of her iconography. A symbol of sin and redemption, between spirituality and earthly sensuality, her figure is interpreted by generations of artists who have captured her emotional and spiritual nuances in different and ever new ways.

"The exhibition Magdalene and the Cross. AMORE SUBLIME that will be hosted by the Museum of St. Catherine is an extraordinarily valuable cultural event that represents another level-headed production of our Civic Museums, which through unprecedented paths aim to disseminate beauty and make people think," said Treviso Mayor Mario Conte. “This exhibition is in fact much more than just a collection of works of art but rather an exciting and profound journey through universal themes and spirituality. Through the more than 100 works on display we will be able to admire interpretations around the figures of Christ and Mary Magdalene, eternal symbols of the human condition. This exhibition is an invitation to reflect on our relationship with spirituality, transcending the barriers of belief, and to embark on a personal journey. It is not only a tribute to the great artistic tradition, with works ranging from the 13th to the 20th century, but also a recognition of the central role our civic collections play in the national cultural landscape. I thank the Department of Culture, director Fabrizio Malachin and all the staff of the Civic Museums. Once again we will have a unique opportunity for citizens and visitors to discover or rediscover art as a mirror of our existence, an inexhaustible source of emotions, reflection and beauty.”

For info: www.museicivicitreviso.it

Treviso, more than 100 works by great artists tell the sublime love between Mary Magdalene and Christ

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