Portrait of a female donor with her daughter, and Saints Mary Magdalene and Margaret

The Master of the Legend of the Magdalene painted this Portrait of a Female Donor with Her Daughter, and Saints Margaret and Mary Magdalene around 1510, a devotional diptych wing that integrated the private patron into sacred company. This anonymous Brussels-based painter is named after a series of panels depicting scenes from the life of Mary Magdalene, and his work reflects the sophisticated devotional patronage of the southern Netherlands nobility. Female donor portraits showing a mother and daughter flanked by their name-saints were particularly meaningful private devotional objects, asserting the women's spiritual identities through their presentation by saints who shared their names or spiritual significance. The detailed attention to the women's dress and jewelry marks this as an image of considerable social ambition.

Tempera technique, reflecting earlier traditions, the portrait demonstrates Master of the Legend of the Magdalene's command of skilled technique and careful observation. The careful modeling of the face reveals close study of the sitter's physiognomy, while the treatment of costume and setting projects appropriate social standing.