The Assumption of St Mary Magdalene

The Assumption of St Mary Magdalene or Mystic Communion is a c. 1460 oil and tempera on panel painting by Antonio del Pollaiolo, now in the Museo della Pala del Pollaiolo at Staggia Senese, now a district in the town of Poggibonsi in the Province of Siena, Italy. It shows the saint in penitence and prayer in the desert, supported by four angels and with a fifth bringing her a host.

It was originally commissioned for the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta in Staggia by the notary Bindo Grazzini, a notary active in Florence but originally from Staggia. Grazzini was also a particular devotee of Mary Magdalene, to whom he dedicated a chapel in Staggia's parish church and a small hospital in his native area. Long lost, it was rediscovered in 1899 by Guido Carocci and six years later published by Bernard Berenson.[1]