Maddalena penitente
Bottega di Guido Reni (Bologna, 1575 – Bologna, 1642)
The Penitent Mary Magdalene
Workshop of Guido Reni
(Bologna, 1575 – Bologna, 1642)
(Bologna, 1575 – Bologna, 1642)
Oil on canvas
112 x 89 cm.
Framed 130 x 108 cm.
The central figure of the work is a captivating Saint Mary Magdalene, recognisable by her natural beauty, her dishevelled clothes – a reminder of her past as a sinner – and her long, loose hair with golden highlights falling over her shoulders.
She is depicted in a penitent pose, with her hands delicately clasped in prayer, absorbed in meditation and her gaze full of emotion, evoking repentance, directed towards a cross made from a branch flanked by a skull, typical symbols of her iconography.
She is draped in a soft cloth resting on her shoulders, simple yet imbued with a strong femininity, striking a perfect balance between the sensuality of the sinner and her spiritual asceticism.
Although our Mary Magdalene evokes at first glance the famous composition by Anton Raphael Mengs (Aussig, 1728 – Rome, 1779), now housed in the Prado Museum in Madrid**, it is not in fact a contemporary work or one to be attributed to the same master, but a beautiful 17th-century painting.
Mengs’s version, as is easy to see, dates from the height of the 18th century and follows a style rooted in the precepts of Neoclassicism, where, compared to the 17th century, the painting is less contrasted and the lines are considerably softened by a clear, sharp and diffused light. Neoclassical painting aimed, in fact, at a perfect and sublime beauty, drawing inspiration from the examples of classical antiquity.
As noted in the Prado catalogue, Mengs drew upon a lost 17th-century work, which was at the time attributed to the leading exponent of Bolognese classicism, Guidi Reni, but was later reattributed to his pupil Giovan Gioseffo Dal Sole (1654–1719).
This practice of ‘artistic dialogue across the centuries’ was widespread in Neoclassicism: for example, Pompeo Bartoni, too, for his famous ‘Magdalene Reclining and Reading’, drew upon a celebrated prototype by Correggio, which has also since been lost.
Returning to our painting, we are therefore inclined to attribute its execution to a skilled Baroque painter active in the 17th century, specifically a follower or pupil of Guido Reni, whose workshop produced numerous depictions of the Penitent Magdalene; among these are the famous painting in Palazzo Barberini and that in the Quimper Musée des Beaux-Arts, https://www.artisorelle.it/opere-arte/2393 ), both by Reni himself, or the Penitent Mary Magdalene attributed to Giovan Gioseffo Dal Sole (Palazzo Pellegrini a S. Cecilia, Verona, https://catalogo.cultura.gov.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/0500717038), and finally the ‘Saint Mary Magdalene in Adoration of the Crucifix’ by Luca Ferrari, also a pupil of Reni (formerly in the collection of Prince R. Pignatelli, https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/opera/58390/ ).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The work is sold complete with an attractive frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.
We arrange and organise the transport of purchased works, both within Italy and abroad, using professional and insured carriers.
It is also possible to view the painting at our gallery in Riva del Garda; we would be delighted to welcome you to show you our collection of works.
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