Artwork
Martha scolding her vain sister Mary Magdalene
Martha scolding her vain sister Mary Magdalene is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Francisco Lupicini. It dates from 1630 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Alongside the two women the composition includes a mirror, a casket, an earring and a domestic servant, all rendered in oil on canvas.
The painting shows Martha confronting her sister Mary Magdalene, a biblical figure, within a domestic interior. Alongside the two women the composition includes a mirror, a casket, an earring and a domestic servant, all rendered in oil on canvas.
Dated to 1630 and measuring 132 cm by 105 cm, the work belongs to the religious genre and was once owned by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm before entering the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The symbolic objects function as visual cues that contrast worldly vanity with spiritual admonition, embodying a Counter‑Reformation message of correction and repentance.
Technique & Style
Francisco Lupicini's Martha scolding her vain sister Mary Magdalene is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. Created in 1630, the work measures 132 cm in height and 105 cm in width. As a religious painting, the composition depicts a domestic scene featuring Mary Magdalene, Martha, a mirror, a casket, an earring, and a domestic worker. The piece is currently held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
History & Provenance
Francisco Lupicini created the oil-on-canvas painting Martha scolding her vain sister Mary Magdalene in 1630. The work entered the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, forming part of his significant accumulation of art. It subsequently became part of the holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it remains preserved today.
The painting is housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it is part of the museum’s permanent collection. It entered the museum’s holdings through the bequest of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, and its accession is recorded under the museum’s cataloguing system, though a specific inventory number is not published in the available records. Exhibition records cited in the sources do not list separate temporary displays for this work, indicating that it has remained in the museum’s collection without documented traveling exhibitions.
Context
The 1630 oil on canvas painting titled Martha scolding her vain sister Mary Magdalene measures 132 cm by 105 cm and depicts the biblical scene with accompanying symbols such as a mirror, casket, earring and a domestic worker. It belongs to the religious genre and was created by Francesco Lupicini, an artist active in the early 17th century.
The work is part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s collection, having been owned by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, which reflects the patronage of the Habsburg court in the 17th century. Contemporary scholarship places the painting within Lupicini’s oeuvre and examines its role in the development of religious narrative painting in Central Europe.
Overview
Francesco Lupicini, an Italian artist active in Zaragoza, completed Martha scolding her vain sister Mary Magdalene in 1630. This oil painting exemplifies the early Baroque style, presenting a domestic scene that features the biblical sisters Martha and Mary Magdalene. The composition includes a casket and other symbolic objects, setting a narrative tone within a shadowy interior.
Artist & collection
Artist
Francesco Lupicini (1590 – 1656) was an Italian painter active in Zaragoza. Lupicini was born in Florence and was a cousin or brother of Gian Battista Lupicini, who has often been listed as the painter of his works. His…
