The Arrival of Mary Magdalene, Martha, and Lazarus at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
17th century
Tapestry
Musée Fau, Conques, France
In the bow of the boat St. Mary Magdalene reads a gospel book with one hand to her cheek. This is a pose often seen in images of her as a contemplative in her cave
example; St. Rosalia of Palermo
is also pictured this way.
Behind their sister, Lazarus and Martha fold their hands in prayer. The story of their voyage to France was a medieval invention: see this explanation on the page for St. Mary Magdalene.
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is a small resort town in Provence. From Roman times until recently it was a fishing village. It claims to be where the three saints landed when they sailed to Gaul from Palestine.
Read more about images of St. Mary Magdalene, St. Martha, and St. Lazarus.
Photographed at the museum by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.