Artwork
The Magdalen
The Magdalen is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Luini Bernardino. It dates from 1525 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The Magdalen is executed in oil on a poplar panel, a common support in North Italian painting of the early sixteenth century.
The Magdalen is executed in oil on a poplar panel, a common support in North Italian painting of the early sixteenth century. Its handling reflects Bernardino Luini's engagement with Lombard and Leonardesque traditions, combining smooth, enamel-like glazes with delicate linear draftsmanship to articulate the Magdalene's flowing hair and softly modeled features. The composition's quiet intimacy and restrained palette, dominated by muted earth tones and a subdued crimson drapery, prioritize devotional clarity over dramatic effect.
Small pentimenti around the figure's right hand suggest minor adjustments during execution, while the panel's stable, even grain supports the painting's refined finish.
History & Provenance
Bernardino Luini painted The Magdalen in 1525 as an oil on panel work (58.8 cm × 47.8 cm). The picture entered the collection of Federico Borromeo by 1607 and remained in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan until 1796. It later belonged to Lucien Bonaparte, Prince de Canino, who owned it in Rome by 1812 and exhibited it in London in 1815.
The painting passed to Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne, and subsequently through his heirs to Thomas Agnew & Sons in 1952, then to Rudolf Heinemann and the Knoedler firm before its purchase by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in 1957; the foundation gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1961.
Since 1961 the painting has been held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection, inventoried as 1961.9.108. Prior to its current location, it was exhibited in London on 6 February 1815 during the private sale of Lucien Bonaparte's collection (as by Leonardo) and again at the 15 May 1816 Bonaparte sale in Stanley, London.
Overview
Bernardino Luini's oil on panel painting, titled The Magdalen, dates to approximately 1525. This religious work portrays a solitary female figure, widely identified as Mary Magdalene, captured in a moment of quiet contemplation. The composition emphasizes her pensive demeanor and the serene environment in which she is situated, reflecting common devotional themes of the period.
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents a woman, presumably Mary Magdalene, seated in isolation within an undefined, tranquil setting. Her simple attire and introspective gaze convey a sense of profound thought or spiritual reflection. This depiction aligns with the tradition of portraying the Magdalene as a repentant figure, often shown in solitude, meditating on her faith or past. The artist focuses on her inner state rather than external narrative.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Bernardino Luini (c. 1480/82 – June 1532) was a north Italian painter from Leonardo's circle during the High Renaissance. Both Luini and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio were said to have worked with Leonardo directly; he…
