19th century, Penitent Magdalene

early nineteenth century

Penitent Magdalene

Oil on oval canvas, 67 x 59 cm

The present work, an oval oil on canvas housed in an elegant gold gouache frame with floral decorations at the corners, takes up the iconographic theme of the penitent Magdalene, a widespread theme throughout the history of art. In the 19th century, the image underwent a more intimate and domestic transformation, while retaining its traditional symbolic features. The woman is portrayed inside the Sainte-Baume cave in Provence, a place of spiritual retreat for the Saint according to the Golden Legend and where her relics were kept, accompanied by her inevitable attributes: the ointment jar, visible on the rock shelf, symbolizing the Gospel episode of the anointing of Jesus' feet; the reed cross, held both in her hand and in the background, symbolizing her profound meditation on the Passion; and the book, representing her contemplative life and study of the Holy Scriptures. Stylistically, the work reflects the Academic and Neoclassical taste of the first half of the 19th century, as evidenced by the particularly smooth application of color (the so-called peinture léchée), with meticulous attention to the rendering of the fabrics—note the intense red of the cloak, which creates a strong chromatic contrast with the flesh tone and the brown tones of the rock—and the softness of the skin. In this context, the state of semi-nudity and the poverty of the clothing serve as a visual counterpoint to the vanity of the past, underscoring the clear departure from the luxurious and refined costumes that characterized the iconography of the Saint before her conversion. According to hagiographies, in fact, after retiring to the rugged peaks of Provence, Mary Magdalene chose a life of absolute asceticism in a cave: stripped of all material possessions and without clothing, she drew sustenance exclusively from prayer and the melodies of angels.

The pointed features of the face and the melancholy grace suggested by the downward gaze, while her long golden hair falls delicately over her exposed breasts, suggest the hand of a Central Italian artist, who studied and revisited the timeless model of Antonio Allegri, known as Correggio. His Reading Magdalene (once in Dresden and now lost) and the one now in the National Gallery in London constituted, in fact, an essential starting point for tackling this subject, bringing out an almost devout sensuality, filtered through the precision of the drawing.

The 19th-century artist of the canvas presented here recovered the sweetness and setting of the 16th-century master, adapting them to a more monumental and static format, in keeping with the tastes of the bourgeois salons of the 19th century: the sacred subject served to ennoble the environment, making sensuality (made explicit by the exposed breast) acceptable within a religious context.

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