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Saint Mary Magdalene
(Baroque Europe )
IIn the New Testament, Mary from the town of Magdala was one of Christ's most loyal followers. Later tradition associated her with a reformed prostitute. The merging of these identities produced emotionally powerful images of a remorseful yet alluring young woman, meditating on death. Many people kept skulls for meditational purposes. Spadarino is one of several painters in Rome in the early 1600s who explored dramatic, compact compositions of a few figures in a dark space illuminated by a strong light, much like a modern "spotlight," an approach made famous by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610).
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [1897 catalogue: no. 231, as Caravaggio]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2011-2012 | Caravaggio and his Circle in Rome. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth. |
| 2009 | Rembrandt Peale's Portrait of John Meer: A New Addition to the American Art Collection. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1996 | To Arrest the Ravages of Time: Caring for Art at the Walters. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Examination | examined for condition; examined for loan | |
| Examination | examined for condition | |
| 2/5/1938 | Treatment | cleaned; infrared spectroscopy; other; x-ray |
| 6/29/1976 | Treatment | other; varnish removed or reduced; x-ray |
| 9/8/1989 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 5/31/2005 | Examination | examined for condition; examined for loan |
Geographies
Italy (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Painted surface H: 52 3/8 x W: 38 7/8 in. (133 x 98.7 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.651