Mary Magdalene as Melancholy

In this depiction of Mary Magdalene, the painter—who was raped in 1611—may have been expressing her own emotional state.

The work in the Soumaya Museum bears a great resemblance to the canvas painting kept in the Treasury at the Cathedral of Seville, in Spain. Both pieces are examples of the powerful Baroque chiaroscuro technique, echoing the works of Caravaggio.

The penitent saint has a rounded face, a stylized nose, and large eyes that are tired from crying.

With reddened eyes, her face seeks consolation on her hand, and her pose of surrender legitimizes her letting go of decorum in favor of suffering as a result of the loss of Jesus.

The perfume bottle on the side is characteristic of Mary of Bethany, and its iconographic significance is mistakenly associated with Mary Magdalene for the anointing of Jesus's feet.

In the opinion of art historian Mary Garrard, this work was undoubtedly created by the brush of Artemisia Gentileschi, and her "Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting" was also derived from it […].

Researcher Guillermo Tovar de Teresa saw the crease between the protagonist's arm and armpit as an allusion to sex. As Father Philippe de la Rosière said, the voluptuousness is transformed upon contemplation.

In delicate drapery, Magdalene, in an abyss of tears, offers up her charm and voluptuousness to anyone who looks at her.