The Magdalen
Bernardino Luini·c. 1525
Historical Context
Luini's Magdalen from around 1525 depicts Mary Magdalene with the Leonardesque beauty and melancholic introspection that characterized his interpretations of sacred subjects. As the disciple who anointed Christ's feet, witnessed the Crucifixion, and was the first to see the resurrected Christ, the Magdalene was the supreme embodiment of loving, faithful devotion. Luini's version belongs to a tradition of devotional panels depicting her in three-quarter length with her jar of ointment — an intimate format designed for private contemplation in a domestic setting. His sfumato modeling gives the figure a soft luminosity that transforms the traditional sinner-turned-saint into an image of absorbed spiritual feeling, characteristic of the emotional register that made his works so widely collected throughout the sixteenth century.
Technical Analysis
Luini's sfumato technique creates the soft, dreamy quality characteristic of his devotional paintings. The Magdalene's face and exposed flesh are modeled with gentle, luminous tones and seamless transitions, while the hair and drapery are rendered with greater definition. The warm palette enhances the painting's devotional mood.
Provenance
Federico Borromeo [1564-1631], by 1607; Biblioteca and Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, until 1796;[1] Lucien Bonaparte [d. 1840], Prince de Canino, Paris and Rome, by 1812;[2] (Exhibited for private sale of Lucian Bonaparte collection, London, 6 February 1815, no. 23, as by Leonardo); (Bonaparte sale, Stanley, London, 15 May 1816, no. 165, as by Leonardo). Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne [1816-1866], Bowood Hall, Wiltshire, by 1844;[3] by inheritance to Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice [1845-1927], 5th Marquess of Landsdowne, Bowood Hall; by inheritance to Henry William Edmund Petty-FitzMaurice [1872-1936], 6th Marquess of Landsdowne, Bowood Hall; acquired 25 April 1952 by (Thomas Agnew and Sons, London); sold 29 April 1952 to(Rudolf Heinemann, New York);[4] on joint account 1952 with (M. Knoedler and Co., London and New York); sold 1957 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[5] gift 1961 to NGA. [1] For the early provenance of the picture, see Pamela M. Jones, "Bernardino Luini's 'Magdelene' from the collection of Federico Borromeo: Religious Contemplation and Iconographic Sources," in _Studies in the History of Art_ 24 (1990): 67-7 [2] _Choix de Gravures a l'eau forte d'apres les Peintures Originales et les Marbres de la Galerie de Lucien Bonaparte_, Londres, 1812. [3] Included in Mrs. Anna Jameson, _Companion to the Most Celebrated Private Galleries of Art in London_, London, 1844: 313-314. [4] Stockbook no. 0718, Thomas Agnew & Sons, London. [5] M. Knoedler & Co. Records, accession number 2012.M.54, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: Stock book no. 10, p. 78, no. A4905; Sales book no. 17, p. 314. Receipt from Knoedler dated 2 January 1957. (See copies of Knoedler documents in NGA curatorial files and The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/2226).
