Saint Mary Magdalene
Piero di Cosimo, 1490
Mary Magdalene sits before a table that works as a windowsill, reading the Bible with a calm, absorbed posture. Her gown and cape are in bright colours and show a dress that looks close to the painter's own time, which brings the scene nearer to everyday life than to an archaic devotional image. She is recognised by her long, slightly curled hair falling over her shoulders and by the bottle of unguent on the shelf beside her, a reference to the anointing traditionally linked to her. Pearls are woven into her hair, and a filigree halo surrounds her head. The painter's signature appears on the sill. The soft shadows modelling the face and the relaxed pose place the work among Piero di Cosimo's late production, when his style was shaped by Leonardo da Vinci. The patron is not known. Images of this saint were sometimes commissioned by people who shared her name, and also by communities of women who had left a life considered sinful, a dedication common in that setting.
- Painter
- Piero di Cosimo
- Date
- 1490
- Medium
- tempera, panel
- Dimensions
- 72 × 53 cm
- Museum
- Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome
- Genre
- religious art
- Depicts
- Mary Magdalene
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