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The Penitent Magdalene
(Baroque Europe )
According to Catholic tradition, Mary Magdalene was a beautiful woman who had led a sinful life. Upon meeting Christ, she repented of her former ways. This painting characteristically depicts Mary Magdalene as a young woman with long blond hair, bared chest, and pale skin. Her eyes are turned sorrowfully towards God, and she is represented with a cross and a skull. Crespi has imitated the famous depictions of the same subject by another great Bolognese painter Guido Reni (Walters 37.2631).
Exquisitely executed, the painting's small size indicates that it was a private devotional image for prayer and meditation.
For more information on this painting, please see Federico Zeri's 1976 catalogue no. 440, pp. 551-552.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, prior to 1909 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Italy, Bologna (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Painted surface H: 9 1/4 x W: 7 1/16 in. (23.5 x 17.9 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, before 1909
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.
37.1130