Magdalene in the Wilderness with Two Putti
n.d.
Medium
Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, over black chalk, on blue tinted laid paper, laid down on card
Dimensions
13.5 × 20.4 cm (5 3/8 × 8 1/16 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
7073
Art Historical Context
In the intimate drawing *Magdalene in the Wilderness with Two Putti*, Baroque artist François Perrier captures a poignant moment of spiritual contemplation. Perrier (c. 1590–1650), who trained in Lyon and worked extensively in Rome, drew inspiration from Italian masters like Caravaggio and the Carracci, blending dramatic realism with elegant figural grace. Here, the penitent Mary Magdalene—often depicted in wilderness exile after her biblical encounters—reclines amid rugged nature, accompanied by two playful putti (cherubic attendants), symbolizing divine comfort or temptation. This undated sh...