Penitent Mary Magdalen
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 9 13/16 × 7 5/8 in. (24.9 × 19.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.95.1910
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the poignant *Penitent Mary Magdalen*, engraving by the Flemish Mannerist master Bartholomeus Spranger1546–1611). Spranger, a favored artist at the Habsburg court in Prague crafted this evocative image of the biblical saint in deep repentance. Mary Magdalene, often depicted as a reformed sinner turned devoted follower of Christ, kneels amid symbols of mortality and faith—a skull as a memento mori and a cross evoking her spiritual devotion. Though the exact date is unknown, the work exemplifies Spranger's graceful, elongated figures and sensual elegance, hallmarks of Northern Mannerism. ...