The Magdalen

Italienische Malerei 1515–1530, c. 1525

Shown from the waist up, a woman with smooth, pale skin looks out at us from the corners of her wide-set hazel eyes in this vertical painting. Against a nearly black background, her body is angled to our left and wavy, auburn hair cascades down her back. Her hair is arranged into a bow shape over a thin, pale pink ribbon, and delicate tendrils frame her face and fall over her shoulders. She has thin brows, and her long, straight nose is wide at the bridge. Her pale, coral-pink lips are closed in a slight smile. She is lit from our left so shadows engulf the corners of her eyes and lips, and her far cheek, to our right, is shaded. Her moss-green gown has a golden-brown panel across the chest and voluminous, puffy sleeves. The green sleeves fall back over the deep folds of the white garment she wears underneath, and the dress is tied with a pink sash just below her bust. She holds the flaring foot of an oyster-white lidded vessel, like a miniature urn, with one hand and tips the conical lid up with the other.
Artist
Italienische Malerei 1515–1530
Date
c. 1525
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
58.8 × 47.8 cm
Collection
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Licence
Public domain, CC0

Image description

Shown from the waist up, a woman with smooth, pale skin looks out at us from the corners of her wide-set hazel eyes in this vertical painting. Against a nearly black background, her body is angled to our left and wavy, auburn hair cascades down her back. Her hair is arranged into a bow shape over a thin, pale pink ribbon, and delicate tendrils frame her face and fall over her shoulders. She has thin brows, and her long, straight nose is wide at the bridge. Her pale, coral-pink lips are closed in a slight smile. She is lit from our left so shadows engulf the corners of her eyes and lips, and her far cheek, to our right, is shaded. Her moss-green gown has a golden-brown panel across the chest and voluminous, puffy sleeves. The green sleeves fall back over the deep folds of the white garment she wears underneath, and the dress is tied with a pink sash just below her bust. She holds the flaring foot of an oyster-white lidded vessel, like a miniature urn, with one hand and tips the conical lid up with the other.

Italienische Malerei 1515–1530