Guido Reni, 'Saint Mary Magdalene', about 1634-5
About the work
Overview
Saint Mary Magdalene is here depicted with eyes raised heavenward, a sign of her devotion and penance. The Gospels describe Mary of Magdala as one of Christ’s followers, a witness to his burial and resurrection. Mary Magdalene was later identified with another biblical figure, an unnamed woman understood to be a repentant prostitute – an identification which is almost certainly untrue.
Guido Reni has included the saint’s typical attributes of a red cloak and long blonde hair. The nondescript background provides the painting with minimal narrative, suggesting perhaps that this was a work intended for quiet meditation.
The image of Mary Magdalene in penance was one of Reni’s most frequently addressed subjects – the artist and his studio produced dozens of variants on the theme. This painting would appear to derive from one of the many full-length depictions of the saint in the wilderness painted by Reni and his studio in the 1620s and 1630s, one of which is today in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Saint Mary Magdalene
- Artist
- Guido Reni
- Artist dates
- 1575 - 1642
- Date made
- about 1634-5
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 79.3 × 68.5 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1840
- Inventory number
- NG177
- Location
- Room 32
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
- Frame
- 17th-century Italian Frame
Provenance
In the collection of the Marquis de Seignelay († 1690) and recorded as thence in the Duc d’Orléans collection, 1727; recorded by Bouilliard’s engraving in Galerie du Palais-Royal, 1786. Brought with the Orléans pictures to England: possibly lot 104 or lot 132 of Orleans (Italian pictures) sale, Bryan’s Gallery, 26 December sqq. 1798. In the collection of Sir Simon Clarke by 1818 when lent to the British Institution (no. 50), as from the Orleans collection, and lent again by him in 1821 (no. 77); Sir Simon Clarke sale, London, 8 May sqq. 1840 (lot 79) bought (Seguier) for the Gallery.
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Michael Levey, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2019The Power and The Virtue: Guido Reni's Death of LucretiaThe Bowes Museum26 October 2019 - 20 January 2020
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2023Masterpieces from the National GalleryShanghai Art Museum East17 January 2023 - 7 May 2023National Museum of Korea2 June 2023 - 9 October 2023Hong Kong Palace Museum22 November 2023 - 11 April 2024Chimei Museum2 May 2024 - 1 September 2024
Bibliography
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1727L.D. de Saint-Gelais, Description des tableaux du Palais Royal: Avec la vie des peintres à la tête de leurs ouvrages: Dédiée à Monseigneur le duc d'Orleans, premier prince du sang, Paris 1727
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1786J. Couché, Galerie du Palais-Royal gravée d'après les tableaux des différentes écoles qui la composent, avec un abrégé de la vie des peintres et une description historique de chaque tableau, Paris 1786
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1798Michael Bryan's Gallery, A Catalogue of the Orléans' Italian Pictures which will be Exhibited for Sale by Private Contract on Wednesday 26th December 1798 and Following Days at the Lyceum in the Strand and at Mr. Bryan's Gallery, 88 Pall Mall, London, 26 December 1798
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1816Christie's London, A Catalogue of the Highly Distinguished and Very Celebrated Collection of Italian, French, Flemish and Dutch Pictures: The Genuine Property of Henry Hope, Esq. Deceased, London, 27 June 1816 - 29 June 1816
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1818British Institution, Catalogue of Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, and French Schools, London 1818
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1821British Institution, A Catalogue of Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, and Dutch Schools: With which the Proprietors have Favoured the Institution, London 1821
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1824W. Buchanan, Memoirs of Painting: With a Chronological History of the Importation of Pictures by the Great Masters into England Since the French Revolution, London 1824
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1840Christie & Manson, A Catalogue of the Very Celebrated Gallery of Pictures of the Late Sir Simon H. Clarke, Bart. Removed from Oakhill, Herts, London, 8 May 1840 - 9 May 1840
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1842Mrs Jameson, A Handbook to the Public Galleries of Art in and Near London, London 1842
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1845G. Foggo, A Catalogue of the Pictures in the National Gallery with Critical Notes, London 1845
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1847R.N. Wornum, Descriptive and Historical Catalogue of the Pictures in the National Gallery, London 1847
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1854G.F. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being and Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss. […], vol. 2, trans. E. Eastlake, London 1854
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1867A.A. Lavice, Revue des musées d'Angleterre, Paris 1867
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1878H. Blackburn, Illustrated Catalogue to the National Gallery: Foreign Schools, London 1878
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1888E.T. Cook, A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery Including, by Special Permission, Notes Collected from the Works of Mr. Ruskin, London 1888
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1905W.H. Hunt, Pre-Raphaelitism and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, London 1905
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1906Half Holidays at the National Gallery, 5th edn, London 1906
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1913C. Stryienski, La galerie du régent, Philippe, duc d'Orléans, Paris 1913
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1971C. Garboli, L'opera completa di Guido Reni, Milan 1971
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1971M. Levey, The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1971
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1980C.C. Malvasia, The Life of Guido Reni, eds C. Enggass and R. Enggass, Univerisity Park PA 1980
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1980J. Mills and R. White, 'Analyses of Paint Media', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, IV, 1980, pp. 65-7
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1980National Gallery, 'Pictures Cleaned and Restored in the Conservation Department of the National Gallery, March 1980 - December 1980', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, V, 1981
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1984D.S. Pepper, Guido Reni: A Complete Catalogue of His Works, Oxford 1984
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1986Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1986
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1988D.S. Pepper, Guido Reni: L'opera completa, Novara 1988
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1988S.L. Caroselli, Guido Reni, 1575-1642 (exh. cat. Pinacoteca Nazionale, 5 September - 13 November 1988; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 11 December 1988 - 12 February 1989; Kimbell Art Museum, 11 March - 14 May 1989), Bologna 1988
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1988S. Ebert-Schifferer et al., Guido Reni und Europa: Ruhm und Nachruhm (exh. cat. Schirn Kunsthalle, 2 December 1988 - 26 February 1989), Frankfurt 1988
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1991D.S. Pepper, 'Guido Reni: Additions to the Catalogue', Atti e Memorie dell'Accademia Clementina, n.s., 28-29, 1991, pp. 81-9
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1992M. Warner, 'The Pre-Raphaelites and the National Gallery', in M. Warner et al., The Pre-Raphaelites in Context, San Marino 1992, pp. 1-12
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1997R.E. Spear, The 'Divine' Guido: Religion, Sex, Money, and Art in the World of Guido Reni, New Haven 1997
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2000B.L. Rasmussen, The Antithetical Mary Magdalene: Grace, Guido Reni, and Early Italian Baroque Art, MA Thesis, California State University, Long Beach 2000
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2002G. Wimböck, Guido Reni (1575-1642): Funktion und Wirkung des religiösen Bildes, Regensburg 2002
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.
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