The Penitent Magdalen (c.1613-1622). Domenico Fetti (Italian, c.1588-1623). Oil on canvas. Hampton C
The Penitent Magdalen (c.1613-1622). Domenico Fetti (Italian, c.1588-1623). Oil on canvas. Hampton Court Palace.The Magdalen is shown weeping, her head leaning on the palm of her right hand, her elbow resting on a large book. She looks downwards, contemplating a skull held in her left hand. A blue mantle covers her head and shoulders. The penitence of St Mary Magdalen is a traditional subject, particularly popular in seventeenth-century Italian art. The saint’s tumbling hair references the Gospel of Luke (7:37-8), which describes a woman who was a sinner, unnamed but usually identified with the Magdalen, who anointed Christ’s feet, washing them with her tears and then drying them with her hair, when he was in the house of the Pharisee. -- source link
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