The Three Marys at the Sepulchre

by Giovanni Battista Gaulli

The Three Marys at the Sepulchre
1685
Painting

Details

All four gospels mention women going to the tomb of Jesus, but only Mark 16:1 mentions the three that this tradition interprets as bearing the name Mary:

Mary Magdalene
Mary of Clopas
Mary Salome
The other gospels give various indications about the number and identity of women visiting the tomb:

John 20:1 mentions only Mary Magdalene, but has her use the plural, saying: "We do not know where they have laid him" (John 20:2).
Matthew 28:1 says that Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" went to see the tomb.
Luke 24:10 speaks of Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary of Jacob, and adds "the other women", after stating earlier (Luke 23:55) that at the burial of Jesus "the women who had come with him from Galilee ... saw the tomb and how his body was laid".

About This Artwork

This name is used for a group of three women who came to the sepulchre of Jesus. In Eastern Orthodoxy they are among the Myrrhbearers, a group that traditionally includes a much larger number of people.

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