Mary Magdalene Comforted by Angels

This 1694 Mary Magdalene Comforted by Angels at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona is an early treatment of the desert saint who, according to tradition, spent her final years in Provençal solitude fed only by angelic sustenance. Painted when Ricci was around forty and establishing his reputation in northern Italy, it demonstrates the emotional directness and warm coloring that would characterize his mature style. The Magdalene's ecstatic expression and the angels' graceful ministrations show Ricci already capable of combining intense spiritual feeling with decorative elegance. Barcelona's holding of this early work reflects the Venetian artistic influence throughout the Spanish Mediterranean world via Habsburg connections.

The early work shows Ricci developing the luminous palette and sensuous rendering of flesh that would characterize his mature treatment of the Magdalen subject, the angelic comforters adding a celestial dimension to the earthly penitent.