The Penitent Magdalen
Carlo Cignanic.1685-90
Dulwich Picture Gallery
London, United Kingdom
"Trained by Albani, one of the Bolognese ‘classicists’ represented at their peak in this Gallery by Guido Reni and Guercino, Cignani was one of the most admired artists of his generation.
Mary Magdalen, the prostitute who was redeemed by Christ himself, represented repentance at its most dramatic. The sensuous beauty, who according to legend retired to Sainte-Baume in Provence, spending thirty years in impoverished penitence, was therefore one of the most popular devotional saints of the Catholic world - she embodied hope of forgiveness for everybody, no matter how great a sinner. Artists loved her too, often shamelessly more for her beauty than her spirituality - the glimpse of flesh amongst the rags."
- Title: The Penitent Magdalen
- Creator Lifespan: 1628 - 1719
- Date: c.1685-90
- Physical Dimensions: w975 x h975 cm
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil
- Work Notes: possibly:Catalogue No. Br-90Last Modified 5 May 1987Lot Sale Date 1802/03/26Sale Begin Date 1802/03/26Sale End Date 1802/03/26Lugt Number 6393Auct.House Auth Christie'sSale Location LondonLot Number 0003Verbatim Artist Carlo CignaniArtist Authority CIGNANI, CARLONationality ItalianTitle A Magdalen at DevotionVerbatim Seller WatsonSeller Authority WatsonTransaction Bought InPrice £4.14
- Work Nationality: Italian
- Support: Canvas
- Provenance: London, Sir Francis Bourgeois, 1811; Bourgeois Bequest, 1811.
- Further Information: Following the Crucifixion, according to her legend, Mary Magdalen retired to Sainte-Baume in Provence, where she lived for thirty years in penitence. She is shown here grasping a skull and reading scripture, a reference to her understanding of the transient nature of this life.
- Artist: Cignani, Carlo
- Acquisition Method: Bourgeois, Sir Peter Francis (Bequest, 1811)
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