Study for "The Death of Mary Magdalen” (previously identified as "Louise Vernet on Her Death Bed")

This drawing was previously identified as depicting the artist's wife, Louise Vernet, on her death bed, and therefore dated to 1845, the year she died. This identification was based on a painting with the same subject and title that belonged to the artist's descendants and was gifted to the Musée d’Arts de Nantes (997.3.1.P.). However, it can now be related to a large unfinished mural project depicting scenes from the life of Mary Magdalen commissioned for the newly finished Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in Paris. This drawing was made in preparation for the last scene in the cycle depicting the death of the Saint. Due to the government’s failure to honor an agreement allowing Delaroche to complete all the decorations in the chapel, creating an aesthetically seamless whole, Delaroche returned his payment, and the murals were never completed. A related drawing of Mary Magdalen's draped body with a cross in her lap can be found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York (1990.219). Delaroche completed many studies for the mural project in Rome and it is possible that the Walter’s drawing was also completed there. The halo over the woman's head, the low position of the drapery across her chest, as well as her flowing hair, all suggest that the figure should be identified as Mary Magdalen rather than the artist's wife. In particular, the role of cloth where the Mary Magdalen's head lays is identical to that seen in a study for the Madeleine murals in the Louvre (RF 35434, Recto).

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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.

Possibly lot 68, sale "Catalogue des tableaux, esqisses, dessins et croquis de M. Paul Delaroche," [expert] Francis Petit, Hotel Drouot, Paris, June 1857, Paris [1]. Goupil, Paris (?); William T. Walters, Baltimore, May 18, 1867 (?), by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894, by inheritance; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

[1] lot 68, "Figure de la Madeleine, pour la Madeleine morte. Dessin rehausee." Sold for 75F.