MAGDALENE IMAGERY AND PROSTITUTION REFORM IN EARLY MODERN VENICE AND ROME, 1500-1700. by RACHEL L. GESCHWIND Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Catherine Scallen Department of Art and Art History CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY May 2011 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of _______Rachel L. Geschwind________________ candidate for the _______PhD. in Art History______________degree *. (signed)_________Dr. Catherine Scallen___________________________ (chair of the committee) _________________Dr. Jon Seydl_____________________ ________________Dr. Edward Olszewski________________ __________________Dr. Holly Witchey__________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ (date) ___March 14, 2011______________ *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A dissertation is a labor of love and a major project that involves innumerable influences, resources, and people. I would like to acknowledge the excellent professors upon whose guidance this project was formed: Dr. Edward Olszewski, Dr. Charles Burroughs, Dr. Jon Seydl, Dr. Catherine Scallen, Dr. John Garton, and Dr. Holly Witchey. Particular thanks to Dr. Olszewski, who has led my journey at Case Western Reserve University and whose unfathomable patience and wisdom have steadied my course. I am indebted to the expertise and direction of the numerous librarians at Kelvin Smith Library at Case Western, the Ingalls Library at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Spencer Library at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the Jannes Library Staff at the Kansas City Art Institute. I wish to thank my family and friends, particularly my mother and father, who provided years of personal support, prayers, and countless conversations of love and reassurance. I would also like to express gratitude for the pastoral leadership of Father Leonard Zamborsky, who served as my spiritual director and helped light the dark path. Thank you to everyone who has patiently provided accountability, mental and spiritual support, and affirmation. Last, and most important, this dissertation is dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene, and all those scholars who seek to exalt the Catholic faith in their studies. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………..ii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS……………………………………………………….iv CHAPTER 1.INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………...1 2. SEX AND THE CITIES: PROSTITUTION HISTORY AND REFORM………………..….20 3. MAGDALENE ICONOGRAPHY AND RELATIONSHIP TO PROSTITUTION…………………..……...53 4. POPOLANI: PRINTED CHAPBOOKS FOR THE POPULACE……………………………………………..…...81 5. “GET THEE TO A NUNNERY”: TRANSITIONAL HOMES FOR REPENTANT PROSTITUTES IN VENICE AND ROME………………………117 6. PRIVATE DEVOTION AND PUBLIC LIVES: THE MAGDALENE AS DEVOTIONAL AID IN ELITE PATRONAGE……….............…………………………153 7. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………….….196 ILLUSTRATIONS…………………………………………………………………..215 APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………….....283 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………........285 i Magdalene Imagery and Prostitution Reform in Early Modern Venice and Rome, 1500-1700 Abstract by RACHEL L. GESCHWIND This dissertation focuses on the development of devotional images of Mary Magdalene, in Venice and Rome during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, pertaining to the reform of prostitution. Although the Magdalene has a rich history in Christian tradition and art, my examination focuses on images of the Penitent Magdalene, both alone and in a group, related to the campaign against prostitution in early modern Italy. Images discussed in this dissertation include: Religious chapbooks dedicated to the subject of the Conversion of the Magdalene (Figs. 1, 2), analyzed in conjunction to their secular counterparts, prints and moralizing broadsheets dedicated to the Lives and Miserable Ends of Prostitutes (Fig. 3); Carlo Caliariʼs Madonna and Child, Saint Mary Magdalene and Convertite for the Venetian Casa del Soccorso (Fig. 4), examined in opposition to Gaulliʼs frescoes at the Casa Marta in Rome (Fig. 5) and Guliegmo Corteseʼs Christ in the House of Mary and Martha (Fig. 6); and two prominent versions of Titianʼs Penitent Magdalene created for Vittoria Colonna and Cardinal Federico Borromeo (Figs. 7, 8). The cities of Venice and Rome are the focus of ii my analysis, representing in microcosm the Italian peninsula and efforts to reform prostitution there through the use of Magdalene imagery. The approach of my dissertation emphasizes a range of patronage, including the open market, corporations, and influential individuals. My purpose in this dissertation is to present a comprehensive study of the complex purposing of the Magdaleneʼs image as a religious model and a social model for the reformation of prostitution in Venice and Rome from 1500 to 1700. The years 1500 and 1700 are the parameters of this investigation, coinciding with the introduction of syphilis in the early sixteenth century and the incarceration of prostitutes at the end of the seventeenth century. It is my conclusion in this dissertation that Magdalene imagery in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries can be inextricably linked to prostitution reform, and that the images presented in this study were created in order to persuade, reinforce, and assist the intended viewer to participate in the popular campaign to decrease prostitution in early modern Venice and Rome. iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Anonymous artist, Titlepage to Marco Rossiglioʼs La Conversione di Santa Maria Maddalena, 1611, woodcut, Biblioteca Vaticano. 2. Anonymous artist, Titlepage to Francesco Zucchetti, La Conversione di Santa Maria Maddalena, 1620, woodcut, Biblioteca Vaticano. 3. Roman or Venetian, Titlepage to Maestro Andreaʼs Purgatory and Lament of the Roman Courtesan, c. 1530, woodcut, British Museum. 4. Carlo Caliari, Madonna and Child with Saint Mary Magdalene and Convertite, c. 1593, oil on canvas, Venice, Gallerie dellʼAccademia. 5. Bacciccio, Fresco vault with scenes from the Life of Saint Martha, c. 1670s, Casa Marta, Rome. 6. Guglielmo Cortese, Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, oil on canvas, c. 1672, Rome, SS. Quattro Coronati. 7. Titian, Penitent Magdalene, c. 1531, oil on canvas, Pitti Palace, Florence. 8. Titian, Penitent Magdalene, 1560s, oil on canvas, Ambrosiana, Milan. 9. Cortigiana, from Cesare Vecellioʼs De gli habiti antichi et moderni di diverse parti del mondo, 1590. 10. Attributed to Tintoretto, Veronica Franco? c. 1575, oil on canvas, Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts. 11. German School, The Whore of Babylon from the Luther Bible, colored woodcut, 16th century, Bible Society, London. 12. Munich ivory panel, early fifth century, Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. 13. Two Marys at the Tomb. Detail of wall painting (c. 240 A.D.) from Dura- Europos. New Haven, Yale University Art Gallery. 14. Two Marys finding the Angel at the Empty Tomb, The Crucifixion. On a sixth- century ampulla. Monza Cathedral. iv 15. Pyxis Depicting Women at the Tomb of Christ, 500s, Ivory, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. 16. The west front of abbey church Ste. Marie-Madeleine, Vézelay. Photographed in c. 1900. 17. Magdalene Preaches of the Risen Christ, Saint Albans Psalter. Illuminated manuscript. c. 1140, Hildesheim, Germany, Dombibliothek, Cathedral Library. 18. Mary Magdalene Preaches in a Pulpit, 1481. Relief by Francesco Laurana. Lazarus Altar, Church of La Vieille Major, Marseilles. 19. German Ecclesiastical Vestment, first half of fifteenth century. Cope embroidered with ten scenes from the life of Mary Magdalene. Saint Annen Museum, Lübeck. 20. Detail from Figure 19, Magdalene as Vanity with Animal-Headed suitors. 21. Magdalene Destroying Pagan Idols in Marseilles,1333-43. Miniature from the Leggendario Ungherese, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. 22. Destruction of the Idols in Marseilles, late fourteenth century Fresco by Lombard Master, Palazzo della Ragione, Bergamo (ex Disciplinati Church of S. Maria Maddalena.) 23. Magdalene Master. Penitent Magdalene with scenes from her life, Magdalen Master, c. 1270. Florence, Galleria dellʼAccademia. 24. Spinello di Luca Spinelli, Processional Banner with Magdalene and Flagellants of San Sepolcro, c. 1395-1400, tempera and gold on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 25. School of Rimini, Saint Francis and Mary Magdalene beneath the Cross, first half of the fourteenth century. Vatican Museums, Pinacoteca. 26. Jacopo di Paolo, Crucifixion with Magdalene and Beata, 1400, panel painting. Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery, Nashville. 27. Giotto, Friar Teobaldo Pontano and Mary Magdalene, ca. 1320s, fresco, Cappella della Maddalena, Lower Church of the Basilica of S. Francesco, Assisi. v 28. Giotto, Saint Mary Magdalene Receiving a Cloak from the Hermit Zosimus, c. 1320s, fresco, Magdalene Chapel, Lower Church of San Francesco, Assisi. 29. French Book of Hours featuring the Magdalene Exorcised by Christ, c. 1460- 70, New York, Pierpont Morgan Library. 30. Follower of Rogier van der Weyden, Deposition, c. 1490. Oil and gold leaf on panel. Los Angeles, Getty Museum. 31. Donatello, Penitent Magdalene, c. 1453-55, wood with polychromy and gold, Museo dellʼ Opera del Duomo, Florence. 32. Sandro Botticelli, Holy Trinity (Crucifixion with Saints Magdalene and John the Baptist), and Noli Me Tangere, The Conversion of Magdalene and The Last Communion of the