Presumed Portrait of Madeleine of Burgundy presented by Saint Mary Magdalene

Presumed Portrait of Madeleine of Burgundy Presented by Saint Mary Magdalene, in the Louvre, shows a young woman—identified by some scholars as Madeleine de Bourgogne—kneeling at prayer, presented by her patron saint in the devotional portrait format common in Flemish and Franco-Flemish painting. Jean Hey's portrait belongs to the tradition of donor portraits in which the act of prayer is given permanent pictorial form, making the sitter's devotion visible for posterity. The Louvre holds this as part of its exceptional collection of French and Franco-Flemish painting from the fifteenth century.

The kneeling female figure is rendered with the precise oil modeling that distinguishes Hey's work, the face individualized as a true portrait while the pose is formalized by the conventions of the donor portrait tradition. The presenting Magdalene is painted with equal technical precision, her identifying attribute—the jar of ointment—placed prominently in the composition.