About this painting:
“Mary Get Your Gun” is about girl power.
Two Marys, the Blessed Virgin and Magdalene sit together in a pose that invites many questions. Note the knees, one pointing to a belly, the other pointing to the title “Beata Virgo”. The red dress is meant to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions. (Let us not forget that it was Pope Gregory that labeled Magdalene “prostitute”. The Bible is much more vague about her.) The Blessed Virgin holds a “streetsweeper” in a confident stance that is reminiscent of photographs of revolutionaries. The streetsweeper gives a nod to the broom, universal symbol for “witch”. The weapon takes the place of the infant Christ.

The Virgin is portrayed in the same attire Michelangelo presented her in, which many art historians believe was a wedding dress. She is sitting in a Neoclassical setting, complete with a semi-hidden “lyre”. On the other side is a vase set between Magdalene’s legs. Yes, it has hidden symbolism. Atop the vase is a famous depiction of Medusa, and above that is an even more famous Greek krater vase depicting the virgin huntress Artemis shooting Aktaion while he is attacked by his own hounds.