Andalusian school; second half of the XVII century.

Andalusian school; second half of the seventeenth century.
"Magdalene penitent".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 73 x 90 cm; 92 x 108 cm (frame).
This canvas represents Mary Magdalene as a penitent in the desert (not understood in the scriptures as such but as an isolated and uninhabited place), dressed in a simple sackcloth and with her hair loose, reading the sacred scriptures that remain on the skull. Formally, the work combines the contrasting, chiaroscuro light treatment based on the earth tones typical of the period with a conception of the figure and the composition directly derived from the Sevillian school. The present painting shows elements inherited from the Baroque period, however the softness of the forms, the measured composition and a certain luminism, show us the aesthetic advance of the painting, resulting in a more measured image, in which we are presented with a reflective Magdalene Mary, rather than the dramatic image of the character.
Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the New Testament as a distinguished disciple of Christ. According to the Gospels, she housed and provided materially for Jesus and his disciples during their stay in Galilee, and was present at the Crucifixion. She was a witness of the Resurrection, as well as the one in charge of transmitting the news to the apostles. She is also identified with the woman who anointed Jesus' feet with perfumes before his arrival in Jerusalem, so her main iconographic attribute is a knob of essences, like the one shown here. While Eastern Christianity honors especially Mary Magdalene for her closeness to Jesus, considering her "equal to the apostles", in the West it was developed, based on her identification with other women in the Gospels, the idea that before meeting Jesus she had dedicated herself to prostitution. Hence the later legend narrates that she spent the rest of her life as a penitent in the desert, mortifying her flesh. In art she was preferably depicted in this way, especially in the 17th century, a time when Catholic societies felt a special fascination with the lives of mystics and saints who lived in solitude in wild places, dedicated to prayer and penance. The story of this saint serves as an example of Christ's forgiveness, and conveys the message of the possibility of redemption of the soul through repentance and faith.