A visitor looking at the crucifix in the same room as Donatello's magnificently carved wooden Mary Magdelene.
Donatello's Mary Magdelene was carved of wood ca. 1455. She is approximately lifesize,
and is shown clothed in her long hair, covering the frail, emaciated body of much suffering and old age.

This sculpture, unlike most sculptures we see, is difficult to look at, because it is not "beautiful" in the strict sense of the word,
and yet is maagnificent in its depiction of a woman who has survived many sorrows.

The Mary Magdelene was severely damaged in the great flood of Nov. 4, 1966,
and is another of the many works of art that have been wonderfully restored since then,
and put on display for visitors to admire.