Jesus and Mary Magdalene at the House of Simon the Leper, in the north aisle of St John the Baptist, Cardiff, by W. F. Dixon. 1890. Another very elaborate three-light window, showing Mary Magdalene with her usual jar of ointment, and, on the other side of Jesus, two figures watching, one pointing to the scene as if to a drama, the other with her own jar of (no doubt) precious ointment. These have been thought to represent the donors (Newman 190) and the woman might indeed represent the widow of the man in whose memory the window was installed. The two angels to the left and right below both carry the same text from Mark 14, 8: "She Hath Done What She Could," while the haloed central figure (shown on the right above), is probably the mourning Mary Magdalene again, holding a cross close to her.
Four finely detailed musician angels in the tracery lights, two playing harps and two, in the middle, singing.
Everything here is very lush, with layered and decoratively trimmed costumes, a background with architectural elements, hanging fruits at the side, and much intricate patterning and gilding. The window was installed to "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of Lt. Col. W. H. Martin Welsh Regiment Vol[untary] Batt[allion] by his widow 1890."
Links to Related Material: Dixon's Other Windows in St John the Baptist
- Jesus at the Well, with the Woman of Samaria
- Jesus as the Good Shepherd Meeting the Sick, the Blind and Lame
Photographs by Colin Price with text by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or to the Victorian Web in a print document. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Bibliography
"Christ and St Mary Magdalene at the House of Simon the Leper." Gwydr Lliw yng Nghymru (Stained Glass in Wales). Web. 19 January 2023.
Newman, John. Glamorgan: Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan (The Buildings of Wales series). New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004.
Created 19 January 2023