Penitent Maddalene with her sister Martha

Peter Paul Rubens painted Penitent Maddalene with her sister Martha in 1620 as an oil on canvas work depicting Mary Magdalene in repentance alongside her sister Martha. The painting entered the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it remains on display. Its dimensions are 205 cm by 157 cm, and it is classified as a religious work from the early 17th century.

The painting is held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it is inventoried as a work by Peter Paul Rubens.

It was first documented in the museum’s holdings in 1620, the year given for its creation.

The work has remained in the museum’s collection since its acquisition, with no record of subsequent transfers or restitutions.

Created in 1620 by the Flemish painter and diplomat Peter Paul Rubens, this oil painting presents a quiet interior scene featuring two women. The work is part of the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and exemplifies the dramatic yet intimate approach characteristic of the Flemish Baroque period.

The composition aligns with Rubens’s broader interest in religious subjects during the Counter‑Reformation, when depictions of penitence served both devotional and didactic purposes. By portraying the sisters together, Rubes juxtaposes the active, hospitable Martha with the contemplative, repentant Mary Magdalene, a contrast often explored in Baroque art.

Rubens’s treatment of the Penitent Magdalene contributed to a visual tradition that influenced later artists’ portrayals of repentance and female sanctity. The painting remains a reference point for scholars studying Rubens’s synthesis of narrative intimacy and Baroque theatricality.