Penitent Magdalen
El Greco·1607
Historical Context
El Greco's Penitent Magdalen of around 1607, a late version of a subject he had treated throughout his career, shows his mature handling of the repentant saint at its most developed — the figure's upward gaze, the skull, the abandoned vessel of ointment creating a composition of intense spiritual yearning. The Magdalene's combination of sinful past and redemptive devotion made her the Counter-Reformation's model penitent, and El Greco's sustained engagement with her image reveals his personal sympathy for the saint whose transformation from sinner to contemplative exemplified the conversion experience.
Technical Analysis
El Greco renders the penitent with extreme elongation and cool, silvery tones, using his late expressionistic technique to create an image focused entirely on spiritual anguish and redemption.
