On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01104
- Author
- Ribera, José de (Spanish)
- Title
- Penitent Mary Magdalene
- Chronology
- Ca. 1637
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 97 cm x 66 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
Mary Magdalene is depicted
half-length, in a pensive and
melancholy mood. She rests her head
on a skull that symbolizes the
brevity of earthly life. A jar of
salve, her characteristic
attribute, appears in the
foreground. In keeping with
traditional iconography, she wears
a sackcloth garment against her
bare skin and her long hair hangs
free.
Representations of Mary Magdalene
were very popular in the
seventeenth century as examples of
repentance from sin and also
because they offered the
possibility of depicting an
attractive body.
This work dates from the beginning
of Ribera's second period; it still
has a tenebrist air, but the light
has become more golden and produces
intense highlights on the saint's
hair and on the metal jar.
By 1666, this painting was at
Madrid's Alcázar Palace.
Location on the map
