Andalusian School; XIX century.

Andalusian School; XIX century.
"Magdalene penitent".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Measurements: 50 x 73 cm; 90 x 68 cm (frame).
Devotional image that shows us Mary Magdalene during her penitence in the desert. The scene develops in an open landscape, but of great tenebrosity that configures a scene of a great luminous dramatism, wrapping the protagonist in the darkness. The young woman lying and reflective has been captured following the models established during the Baroque period, specifically in the Andalusian school, in which this "type" of Magdalene with purple tunic, golden hair and relaxed posture was popularized.
While Eastern Christianity honors especially Mary Magdalene for her closeness to Jesus, considering her "equal to the apostles", in the West it was developed, based on her identification with other women in the Gospels, the idea that before meeting Jesus she had dedicated herself to prostitution. Hence the later legend narrates that she spent the rest of her life as a penitent in the desert, mortifying her flesh. In art she was preferably represented in this way, especially in the 17th century, a time when Catholic societies felt a special fascination for the lives of mystics and saints who lived in solitude in wild places, dedicated to prayer and penance. Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the New Testament as a distinguished disciple of Christ. According to the Gospels, she housed and provided materially for Jesus and his disciples during their stay in Galilee, and was present at the Crucifixion. She was a witness of the Resurrection, as well as the one in charge of transmitting the news to the apostles. She is also identified with the woman who anointed Jesus' feet with perfumes before his arrival in Jerusalem, so her main iconographic attribute is a knob of essences.