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Portrait of a Lady as Mary Magdalen

Bartolomeo Veneto

European Art

Bartolomeo uses the device of the vase on the foreground parapet to prompt an association with Mary Magdalene, the saint believed to have anointed Christ’s feet. The rich embroideries and jewelry may refer to New Testament descriptions of Mary Magdalene as well as to the actual sitter’s status as a woman of wealth, while her frank, serious gaze suggests the piety of the saint, the lady’s likely namesake.
MEDIUM Oil on cradled panel
  • Place Made: Italy
  • DATES 1520s
    DIMENSIONS 22 5/8 x 17 5/8in. (57.5 x 44.8cm) frame: 28 × 23 1/4 × 3 1/8 in. (71.1 × 59.1 × 7.9 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS European Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 21.79
    CREDIT LINE Bequest of A. Augustus Healy
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Bartolomeo Veneto (Italian, North Italian School, active 1502-1531). Portrait of a Lady as Mary Magdalen, 1520s. Oil on cradled panel, 22 5/8 x 17 5/8in. (57.5 x 44.8cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of A. Augustus Healy, 21.79 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 21.79_SL1.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 21.79_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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