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Source Description

The saint, lying at the entrance to her cave, reclines toward the right, her head supported on her left hand. Her right arm rests upon an open Bible. Behind her, three angels are kneeling in the cave of Sainte-Baume and the Mediterranean stretches beyond. The rocky ledge and the ground are strewn with gilt plants bearing daisy-like circular flowers with gilt petals around a blue core over paillettes of foil. Two rabbits play in the foreground.The source of the design was probably a print after the painting of the Magdalene executed around 1520 by Correggio (of which there is a copy in the Dresden Museum). The pose shows the indirect influence of the Italian iconography of Melancholy represented as a reclining female nude (cf. Walters 54.214).Despite the similarities in proportions and technique or this plaque to Walters 44.305, the two works were not executed as companion pieces. Both, however, were framed at the same time in their matching gilt-metal frames of the 16th or 17th century, showing fleurs-de-lys at the four corners.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
23400
label
Plaque with the Penitent St. Mary Magdalen
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
3
Source metadata
id
23400
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Plaque with the Penitent St. Mary Magdalen
description
The saint, lying at the entrance to her cave, reclines toward the right, her head supported on her left hand. Her right arm rests upon an open Bible. Behind her, three angels are kneeling in the cave of Sainte-Baume and the Mediterranean stretches beyond. The rocky ledge and the ground are strewn with gilt plants bearing daisy-like circular flowers with gilt petals around a blue core over paillettes of foil. Two rabbits play in the foreground.The source of the design was probably a print after the painting of the Magdalene executed around 1520 by Correggio (of which there is a copy in the Dresden Museum). The pose shows the indirect influence of the Italian iconography of Melancholy represented as a reclining female nude (cf. Walters 54.214).Despite the similarities in proportions and technique or this plaque to Walters 44.305, the two works were not executed as companion pieces. Both, however, were framed at the same time in their matching gilt-metal frames of the 16th or 17th century, showing fleurs-de-lys at the four corners.
provenance
Samésange Collection (?), Dreux, France [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; A. von Lanna Collection, Prague [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; A. von Lanna Sale, Berlin, November 9, 1909, no. 72; George Robinson Harding, London, 1909, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
mid 16th century (Renaissance)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Enamels
plaques
imageCount
3
pageCount
3
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
9.5
height
11.3
dimensionsRaw
H: 3 3/4 x W: 4 7/16 in. (9.5 x 11.3 cm)
Source extras
RelatedObjects
18287
med
painted enamels on copper
creator_ids
5908
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
9e714501bcdf5919
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
2af95f4ced309daf
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
6ff421b41c73b946
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no