The Ointment of the Magdalene (Le parfum de Madeleine)

Mary Magdalene kneels before Christ and anoints his feet, wiping away the excess oil with her hair, a gesture of deference and devotion. The disciples—especially Judas Iscariot, Tissot notes, in a commentary based on John’s account—are indignant at the gesture’s expense, asking could not this costly ointment be sold and its profits given to the poor? However, Jesus defends Mary’s prescience: “She did it,” he tells them, “for my burial.”