Artwork
Mary Magdalene before Christ’s Tomb
Mary Magdalene before Christ’s Tomb is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Francesc Ribalta. It dates from 1612 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on wooden panel. Ribalta’s handling of oil creates luminous chiaroscuro that models the figure of Mary Magdalene in a devotional, religious composition. The formal treatment emphasizes intimate contemplation through restrained color and delicate brushwork that renders the sitter before a tomb-like altar.
History & Provenance
The work entered the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, where it remains on view as part of the museum’s early‑Spanish‑painting holdings.
Mary Magdalene before Christ’s Tomb is a 1612 oil painting on panel by the Spanish Baroque artist Francesc Ribalta. The work entered the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, where it remains on view as part of the museum’s early‑Spanish‑painting holdings. It was created as an independent religious composition rather than as part of a larger decorative program, reflecting the artist’s practice in the early 17th century.
The painting’s dimensions of 91 cm by 68 cm correspond to the measurements recorded for the work at the Prado, and its subject matter aligns with Counter‑Reformation iconography emphasizing personal devotion.
Mary Magdalene before Christ’s Tomb is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado, as recorded in its Wikidata entry. The painting, executed in oil on panel, was created in 1612 by Francesc Ribalta and depicts Mary Magdalene. According to the available sources, no specific inventory or accession number is documented for the work.
No exhibition history is recorded in the provided sources for this painting.
Overview
Francesc Ribalta’s oil on canvas, painted in 1612, portrays a solitary figure in a moment of prayer before an open tomb. The work is part of the Museo del Prado’s collection in Madrid and exemplifies the early Baroque approach to religious narrative, emphasizing personal devotion and emotional intensity.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is Mary Magdalene, rendered in a red‑yellow robe, her eyes closed and hands clasped as she kneels before the empty tomb. A golden cloth emerges from the tomb’s aperture, and a lantern rests on a nearby ledge. An inscription in Latin on the ledge, “Quia tu verunt dominum,” alludes to her revelation upon discovering the risen Christ.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Francesc Ribalta (2 June 1565 – 12 January 1628), also known as Francisco Ribaltá or de Ribalta, was a Spanish painter of the Baroque period, mostly of religious subjects.
