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 Caliari's Madonna and Child, Saint Mary Magdalene and Convertite for the Venetian Casa del Soccorso (Fig. 4), examined in opposition to Gaulli's frescoes at the Casa Marta in Rome (Fig. 5) and Guliegmo Cortese's Christ in the House of Mary and Martha (Fig. 6); and two prominent versions of Titian's Penitent Magdalene created for Vittoria Colonna and Cardinal Federico Borromeo (Figs. 7, 8). The cities of Venice and Rome are the focus of 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 Magdalene's 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.