The Ecstasy of Saint Mary Magdalene

Lo Spagna painted this depiction around 1520, contributing to the devotional art of the High Renaissance period. Saints' images served as intercessors and models of virtue for the faithful. The painting is in the Wallace Collection. Tempera on panel required careful preparation and a disciplined technique of hatched brushwork to build form and color — a demanding medium that rewarded the methodical workshop training standard in Renaissance painting practice.

The devotional composition is rendered with attention to the expressive and contemplative qualities that served the painting's function as an aid to prayer and meditation.