 Mary Magdalene as depicted in early Renaissance painting is a composite of various biblical figures . Here , she is based on Mary of Bethany , who is identified as the Magdalene in the Roman Catholic tradition . Mary of Bethany sat at Jesus ' feet and " listened to His Word " , and thus is seen as a contemplative figure . The counterpoint is Mary 's sister Martha who , representative of the active life , wished that Mary would help her serve . Mary is shown by van der Weyden as youthful , sitting in quiet piety with her head <unk> and eyes <unk> averted from the viewer . She is absorbed in her reading of a holy book , the covers of which include a <unk> of white cloth , a common form of protective binding . Four coloured cloth <unk> are tied to a gold bar near the top of the spine . According to Lorne Campbell , the manuscript " looks rather like a 13th @-@ century French Bible " and is " clearly a devotional text " . It was rare for contemporary portraits to show women reading , and if the model herself could read then she was likely from a noble family . 
