The Penitent Mary Magdalene by Caravaggio was created in 1597. The painting is in Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome. The size of the work is 122,5 x 98,5 cm and is made as an oil on canvas.
This painting dates back to the early stage of Caravaggio’s activity in Rome (c. 1597) and portrays the sinner who has just renounced her previous worldly life: she has dropped a string of pearls on the ground, along with jewellery and a jar of unguent, an object often associated with her. As in the Rest on the Flight into Egypt, the artist demonstrates his skill in still life painting. The figure is complete, but appears compressed by the high viewing point. (Read more in Galleria Doria Pamphilj)
About the Artist: Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was born in Milan. During the final four years of his life he moved between Naples, Malta, and Sicily until his death. His paintings have been characterized by art critics as combining a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which had a formative influence on Baroque painting. Caravaggio employed close physical observation with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro that came to be known as tenebrism… Read more
