Artwork
Penitent Mary Magdalene
Penitent Mary Magdalene is an unspecified painting by the High Baroque Italian artist Francesco Trevisani. It dates from 1710 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Francesco Trevisani's 1710 painting depicts Mary Magdalene as the Penitent Magdalene, a specific religious subject focusing on her repentance.
Francesco Trevisani's 1710 painting depicts Mary Magdalene as the Penitent Magdalene, a specific religious subject focusing on her repentance. The work falls within the genre of religious art, visually representing the saint's spiritual transformation and contrition. By isolating this moment of penitence, the image serves as a devotional tool intended to inspire reflection on forgiveness and redemption.
History & Provenance
Created in 1710, the Penitent Mary Magdalene is attributed to Francesco Trevisani and depicts a religious subject. The painting entered the holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it remains located. The work’s dimensions are 31.5 cm in height and 41 cm in width.
The painting is held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, where it is inventoried as “Penitent Mary Magdalene” by Francesco Trevisani (inv. GG_35).
It has been exhibited in the museum’s permanent display of Italian Baroque paintings, most recently as part of the collection’s rotation of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century religious works.
Context
Francesco Trevisani painted Penitent Mary Magdalene in 1710, a religious work depicting Mary Magdalene in a moment of penitence. The painting is housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it is part of the collection of religious art. Scholarship situates the work within Trevisani's broader output as a religious painter active in the early 18th century, reflecting the continued prominence of penitent saintly subjects in devotional art of the period.
Its depiction of Mary Magdalene aligns with Counter-Reformation themes of repentance and spiritual transformation, though specific critical reception history is not documented in the provided sources.
Overview
The Penitent Mary Magdalene is a 1710 painting by Francesco Trevisani, an Italian artist active during the late Baroque or early Rococo period.
Technique & Style
Trevisani's use of chiaroscuro creates a dramatic contrast between light and dark, giving the figure a three-dimensional appearance. The soft glow on Mary Magdalene's skin and clothes is achieved through the artist's skillful handling of light against a dark background, reflecting the stylistic nuances of the transition from Baroque to Rococo.
Artist & collection
Artist
Francesco Trevisani (April 9, 1656 – July 30, 1746) was an Italian painter, active in the period called either early Rococo or late Baroque (barochetto).
Dead Christ Supported by Angels
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Holy Family with the Infant St. John
The Virgin and Child
Hl. Sebastian
Penitent Magdalen
The Martyrdom of the Seven Sons of Saint Felicity
Body of Christ, held by angels
