Reception of the biblical Magdalene remains dominated by discredited ideas that bear the hallmarks of their development under patriarchy. This thesis challenges this dominant mythologisation as codified in Counter-Reformation art. It proposes a new methodological framework in the feminist reception critical tradition, Liberative Reception Criticism, which develops Gadamerian reception theory in line with liberative hermeneutics, via the insights of intersectionality as critical theory. It explores the liberative potential of engaging visual art with biblical texts in a process of reimaging, looking anew at visual representations of the Magdalene. By challenging the iteration of frequently damaging and doxic ideas, perspectives on gender and female sexuality are problematised, with transferable impact today. The first stage considers how the Magdalene has been (mis-)characterised through mythologisation (after Barthes), laying out source material that provides the foundation for knowledge construction. Thematic visual analysis of Magdalene art is then used to identify key tropes and establish the descriptive and prescriptive relationship evident between reception and myth. The final section explores possible liberative outcomes of reimaging through four case studies: the isolated, mourning Magdalene is reimaged as a woman in community responding to trauma; the intermediary apostle to the apostles is reimaged as an empowered apostle to the Church; the melancholic penitent is reimaged as contently reconciled with self and God; Martha's sinful foil is reimaged as independent and spiritually enlightened. By subverting the models of power and knowledge that are integral to patriarchy, the thesis offers possible rather than definitive outcomes that form a new point of departure in an ongoing cycle of myth construction and deconstruction. This approach allows for new and oppositional readings of biblical texts, with an understanding of the situatedness of any interpretation, through the heuristic lens of art. Ultimately, the Magdalene is transformed from a reductive and patriarchally mythologised figure to a multidimensional character who is relatable and liberative as an exemplar.