'Magdalene at the Base of the Cross' by Chris Gollon (1953 - 2017): Southwark Cathedral, London
This painting was part of Chris Gollon's national touring exhibition to English cathedrals 'Incarnation, Mary and Women from the Bible' (2014 - 2016), and it also features in the new documentary 'CHRIS GOLLON: Life in Paint' (85mins). On loan from a major private collection, this painting will be shown in Southwark Cathedral in 2026.
Magdalene at the Base of the Cross’ by Chris Gollon, on loan from a private collection, is displayed beside the High Altar of Southwark Cathedral for the duration of Lent, which coincides with Women’s History Month in March. The painting was first shown in Gollon’s national touring exhibition to English cathedrals ‘Incarnation, Mary and Women from the Bible’ (2014 – 2016), which travelled to the cathedrals of Guildford, Norwich, Chichester, Durham and Hereford, before finishing in Romsey Abbey.
Gollon also brought women to the fore, painting them as modern, feisty, brave women, in his ‘Fourteen Stations of the Cross’, permanently installed in the Grade I listed Church of St John on Bethnal Green, designed by Sir John Soane. In the documentary ‘CHRIS GOLLON: Life in Paint’ , to be screened in the Cathedral on 6th March, Sara Maitland remarks: “I’m an old-style feminist […] trying to bring that sort of feminism into some sort of relationship with the Gospels, and Chris just does it”. Gollon biographer art historian Tamsin Pickeral notes: ‘Magdalene at the Base of the Cross’ “has an increasing earthiness, seen in her muscly, knotted arms and her workmanlike hands. Clearly this is a woman who has toiled, and yet she is also incredibly beautiful.”
Documentary Screening Southwark Cathedral 6th March, to purchase tickets (£5) click: ‘CHRIS GOLLON: Life in Paint’ (85mins).
Doors/refreshments at 6.45pm followed at 7.15, prior to the screening, Reverend Canon Kathryn Fleming, Canon Precentor of Southwark Cathedral, and Reverend Dr Julie Gittoes, Vicar of St Mary’s & Christ Church, Area Dean of Barnet, will say a few words about ‘Magdalene at the Base of the Cross’, and the relevance of Chris Gollon’s imagery to Women’s History Month. Film starts at 7.30pm, tickets £5 purchasable via the link above.
‘Incarnation, Mary and Women from the Bible’ catalogue, with texts by writers including Sara Maitland and Tamsin Pickeral, available from our online Shop or the Cathedral's shop.
