Maria Magdalena

The Master of the Female Half-Lengths' Mary Magdalene (Maria Magdalena) belongs to his series of half-length female figures that gave him his modern name. The Magdalene was a particularly complex devotional subject, combining penitential piety with erotic undertones: her beauty, her past as a sinner, and her privileged access to the risen Christ made her a fascinating figure for meditation. This master's Magdalene typically shows the saint holding or contemplating her ointment jar while reading scripture, the combination of personal spiritual transformation and learned devotion creating an image that spoke to both female piety and humanist religious culture.

The painting demonstrates the technical conventions and artistic vocabulary of the period, with attention to composition, color, and the rendering of form appropriate to the subject.