St. Mary Magdalen Reclining in a Grotto
Medium
Engraving; reverse copy
Dimensions
sheet: 6 7/16 x 8 9/16 in. (16.4 x 21.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.1983
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the tranquil solitude of a rocky grotto, *St. Mary Magdalen Reclining* captures the penitent saint in deep contemplation, a beloved figure in Christian iconography symbolizing repentance and spiritual devotion. Rendered as an engraving by Claude Mellan, with possible involvement from Claude Goyrand, this reverse copy exemplifies 17th-century French printmaking mastery. The saint reclines amid emblems of mortality—a skull and cross—evoking her legendary life as a hermit meditating on Christ's Passion and her own redemption. Engravings like this were pivotal in disseminating religious imager...
About the Artist
Claude Mellan|Claude Goyrand · 1598–1688
Claude Mellan (1598-1688) was a French draughtsman, engraver, and painter who became one of the most innovative printmakers of the French Baroque period. Born in Abbeville to a family of coppersmiths, Mellan rose to become Peintre et Graveur Ordinaire du Roi (Painter and Engraver in Ordinary to the King), achieving recognition for his extraordinary technical mastery. Mellan's artistic significanc...