The Donor and Saint Mary Magdalene

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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A statuesque Mary Magdalene, one of Christ's followers, rests her fingers on the shoulder of a kneeling donor. In the other hand, she nonchalantly lifts a large golden vessel. This is the pot containing the precious ointment with which she anointed Christ's feet (Luke 7:37). In sharp contrast to her colourful opulence, the donor is a serious-looking middle-aged man dressed as a canon. He appears to be both balding and tonsured.This is one of two shutters from a triptych (a painting made up of three sections), the central part of which is lost. We are not sure who or where they were made for, but the coats of arms painted on the back of the panels are similar to those of the Hamal and Kersbeke families. The donor may have been a canon whose father was a Hamal and whose mother was a Kersbeke.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Donor and Saint Mary Magdalene

Date

about 1540

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 123 x W 46 cm

Accession number

NG6508.2

Acquisition method

Bought, 1986

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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