The Penitent Magdalene
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 27.1 × 17.1 cm (10 11/16 × 6 3/4 in.) sheet: 27.4 × 17.8 cm (10 13/16 × 7 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Alessandra Manning Dolnier
Accession Number
2018.113.3
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Penitent Magdalene* (1609), a engraving by Willem van Swanburgh after a design by the renowned Dutch artist Abraham Bloemaert. Bloemaert, a pivotal figure in the Utrecht school bridging Mannerism and the emerging Baroque, often depicted dramatic religious scenes infused with emotional depth and Caravaggesque tenebrism—chiaroscuro lighting that heightens pathos. Here, the Magdalene kneels in tearful contrition, embodying redemption and spiritual fervor, a motif popular in Counter-Reformation art to inspire Catholic devotion amid Protestant challenges in the Netherlands. Crafted as ...