Venetian Woman / Mary Magdalene

Savoldo's Venetian Woman or Mary Magdalene from around 1537 is one of his most celebrated paintings and a supreme example of his preoccupation with the optical effects of light on reflective fabric surfaces. The woman—possibly identifiable as Mary Magdalene by her jar of ointment, or possibly a secular Venetian noblewoman—is enveloped in a silver-white cloak that Savoldo renders with extraordinary attention to the way cloth reflects and absorbs different intensities of light. The painting exists in multiple versions, suggesting it was among the compositions of greatest commercial appeal in his career. His concern for the specific optical qualities of different materials—silk versus linen, smooth versus textured—connects him to both the Flemish tradition of surface mastery and the Lombard naturalism that would produce Caravaggio a generation later.

Savoldo's mastery of reflected light is displayed in the luminous treatment of the satin or silk wrapping that envelops the figure. The silvery tones of the fabric catching light create an extraordinary visual effect that is Savoldo's most distinctive contribution to Venetian painting.