The Repentant Magdalen

Mary Magdalene is one of the principal repentant saints in Christian art. Here, she is shown with her attributes—crucifix, skull, scripture, and ointment jar—raising her tear-filled eyes toward heaven.

Philippe de Champaigne's religious paintings were influenced by his adherence to Jansenism, a French Catholic sect of great austerity, in the latter 1640s. Made for a Parisian convent, The Repentant Magdalen depicts the saint at the entrance to a cave, a setting derived from the medieval legend that later in life she lived in retreat in a grotto at Sainte-Baume in France. The crisp lines and icy colors contribute to this painting's tone of pious sobriety.