The Penitent Mary Magdalene

Description The saint is shown wistfully meditating, her head resting on her hands as she leans upon a skull set on a book, painted by Giacomo Galli, an early follower of Caravaggio. The rich brocade of her skirt reminds the viewer of her earlier worldly life. For more information on this painting, please see Federico Zeri's 1976 catalogue no. 3160, pp. 444-445.

Exhibitions

• To Arrest the Ravages of Time: Caring for Art at the Walters. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1996.
• Rembrandt Peale's Portrait of John Meer: A New Addition to the American Art Collection. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2009.
• Caravaggio and his Circle in Rome. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth. 2011-2012.

Provenance 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.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902