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Carlo Crivelli, 'Saint Mary Magdalene', probably about 1491-4

About the work

Overview

This elegant woman is Mary Magdalene, holding the pot of oil with which she anointed Christ’s feet. Although a biblical figure, she is dressed in the height of fifteenth-century fashion. Her red cloak and uncovered hair were meant to hint at the medieval understanding that she ‘gave herself to all delights of the body’.

In a kind of Renaissance virtual reality, Crivelli plays with our knowledge that we are looking at a flat painted surface by creating an illusion of three-dimensional space. Here Mary stands on a shelf in front of a curved stone recess, casting a shadow on the wall behind her. Her toes in their red sandals protrude over the edge of the shelf, as if she is about to step forward into our world.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Saint Mary Magdalene
Artist dates
about 1430/5 - about 1494
Part of the series
Panels from a Frame or a Predella
Date made
probably about 1491-4
Medium and support
egg tempera on wood
Dimensions
37.5 × 18.5 cm
Acquisition credit
Bought, 1874
Inventory number
NG907.2
Location
Room 10
Collection
Main Collection
Previous owners

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images

About the series: Panels from a Frame or a Predella

Overview

These two female saints, Mary Magdalene and Catherine of Alexandria, almost certainly came from a polyptych (a multi-panelled altarpiece) and were part of the frame or predella, the bottom tier below the main panels.

Both Mary Magdalene and Catherine were enormously popular throughout the Middle Ages so their inclusion doesn't help us to work out where the altarpiece was meant to go originally. They are attributed to Carlo Crivelli, though have often been thought to be by his assistants.

Works in the series

This graceful golden-haired princess comes from a predella, a row of scenes along the base of an altarpiece, or from the frame of an altarpiece. She is Saint Catherine, shown with her traditional attributes of a spiked wheel and a cactus-like martyr’s palm.To show off his skill with foreshortenin...
This elegant woman is Mary Magdalene, holding the pot of oil with which she anointed Christ’s feet. Although a biblical figure, she is dressed in the height of fifteenth-century fashion. Her red cloak and uncovered hair were meant to hint at the medieval understanding that she ‘gave herself to al...