The Magdalen

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Saint Mary Magdalene stands behind a stone ledge and holds her attribute -- the pot of oil with which she anointed Christ's feet. Behind her, a window opens onto a landscape; the cliffs and buildings on the left are a fairly accurate view of La Sainte-Baume, east of Marseille, where, according to legend, Mary Magdalene spent the last years of her life.The composition is based on Quinten Massys' Saint Mary Magdalene (Louvre, Paris). The Master of 1518 seems to have made an effort to suggest that the saint lived in an exotic past: her clothes are extravagantly rich and present a strange assortment of elements of historic, German, Italian, oriental and fancy dress. Her hairstyle is reminiscent of Venus' in Botticelli's Venus and Mars; the artist may have seen a print of it by one of Botticelli's Florentine contemporaries.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Magdalen

Date

about 1530

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 52.7 x W 34.9 cm

Accession number

NG719

Acquisition method

Presented by Queen Victoria at the Prince Consort's wish, 1863

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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