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A young woman with pale skin sits at a table in a darkened room in this vertical painting. Long chestnut-brown hair drapes over her shoulder and her deep, cream-colored, long-sleeved garment is open at her neck. She rests her chin in her right hand, farther from us, as her left reaches for a skull placed on a thick book on the table in front of her. The scene is lit by a single candle mostly out of sight behind the skull. Shown in profile, she looks into a small mirror next to the skull, which reflects that object and the book.

Georges de La Tour

The Repentant Magdalen, c. 1635/1640

West Building, Main Floor - Gallery 37

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 113 × 92.7 cm (44 1/2 × 36 1/2 in.)

framed: 142.24 × 124.46 × 10.8 cm (56 × 49 × 4 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

Accession Number

1974.52.1

Artists / Makers

Georges de La Tour (artist) French, 1593 - 1652

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Overview

According to the tenets of the 17th–century Catholic church, Mary Magdalene was an example of the repentant sinner and consequently a symbol of the Sacrament of Penance. According to legend, Mary led a dissolute life until her sister Martha persuaded her to listen to Jesus Christ. She became one of Christ's most devoted followers and he absolved her of her former sins.

In Georges de La Tour's somber canvas Mary is shown in profile seated at a table. A candle is the source of light in the composition, but the light also carries a spiritual meaning as it casts a golden glow on the saint's face and the objects assembled on the table. The candle light silhouettes Mary's left hand which rests on a skull that is placed on a book. The skull is reflected in a mirror. The skull and mirror are emblems of vanitas, implying the transience of life.

The simplification of forms, reduced palette, and attention to details evoke a haunting silence that is unique to La Tour's work. La Tour's intense naturalism rendered religious allegory accessible to every viewer. Although his work is deeply spiritual in tone, the solidity and massing of the forms reveal the same emphasis on clarity and symmetry that pervaded contemporary history painting and was a hallmark of French baroque art.

Provenance

Marquise de Caulaincourt, by 1877; by inheritance to his sister, comtesse de Andigné, by 1911.[1] art market, Paris; André Fabius, Paris, by 1936;[2] purchased 1974 by NGA.

[1] On the back of the stretcher is the stencil of Etienne-François Haro (1827-1897) and his son Henri (1855-1911), important Parisian restorers and vendors of art supplies, as well as artists themselves. An entry in the Haro account book for 9 October 1877 provides the early provenance, information that was first published by Pierre Rosenberg and Jacques Thuillier, "George de La Tour," Revue du Louvre et des Musées de France 22, no. 2 (1972): 161, followed, with slightly differing details, by Pierre Rosenberg and François Macé de l'Épinay, Georges de La Tour: vie et oeuvre, Fribourg, 1973: 140, and Benedict Nicolson and Christopher Wright, Georges de La Tour, London, 1974: 175.

[2] The three references to the painting that discuss its provenance (see note 1) provide differing accounts of when and where Fabius acquired the painting: Rosenberg and Thuillier 1972 say 1936; Rosenberg and Macé de l'Épinay 1973 say a public sale in 1936; Nicolson and Wright 1974 say the Paris art market before 1936.

Associated Names

Andigné, Comtesse de
Caulaincourt, Marquise de
Fabius, André, Monsieur

Exhibition History

1937: Chefs d'oeuvre de l'art français, Palais National Des Arts, Paris, 1937, no. 24, repro.

1951: French Painting 1100-1900, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, October-December 1951, no.56, repro.

1951: Mostra del Caravaggio e Dei Caravaggeschi, Palazzo Reale, Milan, April-June 1951, no. 128, repro.

1953: La femme dans l'art français, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 1953, no. 77, pl. 45.

1958: Fem Sekler Fransk Konst, Miniatyrer, Malningar, Teckningar, 1400-1900, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 1958, no. 35, repro.

1972: Georges de La Tour, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, 1972, no. 15, repro., as La Madeleine Fabius.

1993: Georges de La Tour's "Repentant Magdalene", National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1993, brochure, color repro. on cover.

1993: Masterpiece in Focus: The Magdalenes of Georges de la Tour, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1993-1994.

1996: Georges de La Tour and His World, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, 1996-1997, no. 22, as The Magdalene at the Mirror.

1997: Georges de La Tour, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, 1997-1998, no. 37, repro.

1998: Conversion by Candlelight: The Four Magdalens by Georges de La Tour (1593-1652), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1998, no cat.

1999: Caravaggio's 'The Taking of Christ': Saints and Sinners in Baroque Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1999, brochure, no. 2, repro.

2016: Georges de La Tour, 1593-1652, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2016, no. 22, repro.

2020: Georges de La Tour. L'Europa della luce, Palazzo Reale, Milan, 2020.

Bibliography

1937: Alfassa, Paul. "Review of 'Chefs-d'oeuvre de l'art français'." (Exh. Palais national des arts). Revue de Paris (15 October 1937): 930-931.

1937: Chefs d'oeuvre de l'art français. Exh. cat. Palais national des arts, Paris, 1937: no. 87, pl. 34.

1937: Florisoone, Michel. "Le sentiment religieux et l'art de 1600 à 1900." Art Sacré (June 1937): 187, repro.

1937: Sterling, Charles. "A New Picture by Georges de La Tour." The Burlington Magazine (1937): 8-14, repro.

1938: Pariset, François-Georges. "L'image Saint Alexis' de Georges de La Tour." Gazette des Beaux-Arts ser. 20, 2 (1938): 63.

1938: Sterling, Charles. "Two New Paintings by Georges de La Tour: Magdalen with the Nightlight and Dead Monk." The Burlington Magazine 72, no. 422 (May 1938): 203-208.

1939: Jamot, Paul. "Georges de La Tour, à propos de quelques tableaux nouvellement decouverts." Gazette des Beaux-Arts ser. 6, 21 (April 1939): 244-245, 248, repro.

1942: Jamot, Paul. Georges de La Tour. Paris, 1942: 32, 37, repro.

1948: Pariset, François-Georges. Georges de La Tour. Paris, 1948: 152, 155, 158-159.

1949: Bloch, Vitale. "Beschouwingen over Georges de La Tour." La Art Français. Maanblad voor Beeldende Kunsten 25, nos. 4-5 (April-May 1949): 86, 88, 94, 96, 98, repro.

1949: Furness, S.M.M. Georges de La Tour of Lorraine, 1593-1652. London, 1949: 86-90.

1949: Richardson, E.P. "George de la Tour's 'St. Sebastian Nursed by St. Irene'." Art Quarterly 12, no. 1 (Winter 1949): 83.

1950: Bloch, Vitale. Georges de La Tour. Amsterdam, 1950: no. 16, repro.

1951: Malraux, André. Les voix du silence. Paris, 1951: 391, repro.

1951: Sterling, Charles. "Observations sur Georges de La Tour à propos d'un livre récent." Revue de l'Art 1 (September 1951): 150, 154.

1953: Arland, Michel. Georges de La Tour. Paris, 1953: repro.

1953: Bloch, Vitale. Georges de La Tour: un saggio sulla sua opera, preceduto da un catalogo delle sue pitture. Milan, 1953: no. 16.

1955: Pariset, François-Georges. "La Servante à la puce par Georges de La Tour." Revue des Arts 5, no. 2 (June 1955): 93.

1956: Verdier, Philippe. "L'art religieux." In Formes de lart. Paris, 1956: 106, 107, repro.

1957: Chastel, André. "L'art et le sentiment de la mort au XVIIe siècle." Bulletin de la Société d'Étude du XVIIe siècle 36-37 (July-October 1957): 293.

1961: Dorival, Bernard. "La résurrection de Georges de La Tour." Réalités (February 1961): 62-71, repro.

1961: Pariset, François-Georges. "La Madeleine aux deux flammes: un nouveau Georges de La Tour." Bulletin de la Société de l’Histoire de l’Art Français 1960 (1961): 40-42.

1962: Faré, Michel. La nature morte en France: son histoire et son évolution du XVIIe au XXe siècle. 2 vols. Geneva, 1962: 1:112.

1967: Ottani Cavina, Anna. La Tour. Chefs d'oeuvre de l'art: grand peintres. Paris, 1967: repro.

1967: Tanaka, Hidemichi. "Étude sur l'évolution stylistique des oeuvres de Georges de La Tour." Bijutsu-shi, Journal de la Société japonaise d'histoire de l'art 16, no. 4 (March 1967): 129-143, French summary on 148-149.

1970: Tanaka, Hidemichi. "Georges de La Tour dans ses rapports avec Le Clerc, Callot et Rembrandt." L'Information d'histoire de l'art 15, no. 2 (March-April 1970): 55.

1971: Szigethi, Agnès. Georges de La Tour. Budapest, 1971: figs. 19, 20, 21.

1972: Adhémar, Hélène. "La Tour et les couvents lorrains." Gazette des Beaux-Arts ser. 6, 80 (October 1972): 219-222.

1972: Blunt, Anthony. "Georges de La Tour at the Orangerie." The Burlington Magazine114, no. 833 (August 1972): 520, 525.

1972: Chastel, André. "La Tour perdu et retrouvé." Médecine de France 233 (June 1972): 53.

1972: Moussalli, Ulysses. À la recherche de Georges de La Tour. Paris, 1972: 50, 81, 99.

1972: Picard, Raymond. "L'unité spirituelle de Georges de La Tour." Gazette des Beaux-Arts ser. 6, 80 (October 1972): 217.

1973: Choux, Jacques. "Le miroir de la Madeleine chez George de La Tour." Le Pays Lorrain 54, no. 2 (1973): 111-112.

1973: Fahy, Everett, and Francis John Bagott Watson. The Wrightsman Collection. Vol. 5: Paintings, drawings, sculpture. New York, 1973: 141-143, repro.

1973: Rosenberg, Pierre, and François Macé de l'Epinay. Georges de La Tour, Vie et Oeuvre. Fribourg, 1973: 140-143, no. 36, repro.

1973: Solesmes, François. Georges de La Tour. Lausanne, 1973: 77, 126, 158-159, repro.

1973: Thuiller, Jacques. "Georges de La Tour: un an après." Revue de l'Art 20 (1973): 94-95, repro.

1973: Thuiller, Jacques. L'opera completa di Georges de La Tour, Paris, 1973: no. 39, pl. 34.

1974: Bloch, Vitale. "Revoyant Georges de La Tour." In Liber Amicorum Karel G. Boon. Amsterdam, 1974: 54.

1974: Crespelle, Jean-Paul. "Adieu Madeleine!" Journal du Dimanche 29 (29 September 1974).

1974: Editorial, "Visa pour Washington." Connaissance des Arts (June 1974): 7, repro.

1974: Forgey, Benjamin. "Waiting for de La Tour." (27 September 1974): D1, repro.

1974: Glueck, Grace. International Herald Tribune (27 September 1974).

1974: Glueck, Grace. "National Gallery Buys a French Masterwork." New York Times (26 September 1974): 1, 25, repro.

1974: International Herald Tribune (28-29 September 1974).

1974: Jacquet-Francillon, Jacques, and Alain Vernay. Figaro (30 September 1974).

1974: Kramer, Hilton. "De La Tour: A Rediscovery of Modern Scholarship." New York Times (26 September 1974): 50-51.

1974: New York Times (27 September 1974).

1974: Nicolson, Benedict, and Christopher Wright. Georges de La Tour. London, 1974: 174-176, no. 29, repro., pls. 57, 58, 60.

1974: Rovner, Sandy. "A Masterpiece for the Gallery." The Washington Post (26 September 1974): B1, B4.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 188, repro.

1976: Larcan, Alain. "À propos du tableau de Georges de La Tour du Musée Lorrain dit 'La Femme à la Puce'." Le Pays Lorrain 57, no. 3 (1976): 160.

1976: Pariset, François-Georges. "Georges de La Tour; notes et réflexions sur l'artiste et son oeuvre." Le Pays Lorrain 57, no. 3 (1976): 143-146, 153-154.

1976: Rosenberg, Pierre. "Review of Nicolson and Wright, Georges de La Tour." The Art Bulletin 58, no. 3 (September 1976): 452.

1976: Spear, Richard E. "The Literature of Art: A New Book on La Tour [Review of Nicolson and Wright, Georges de La Tour]." The Burlington Magazine 118, no. 877 (April 1976): 235.

1977: Wright, Christopher. Georges de La Tour. Oxford, 1977: 19, 129, repro.

1979: Watson, Ross. The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 74, pl. 60.

1980: Stoichita, Victor. "Melancolia II. Eseu Despre Georges de La Tour sù migratia simbolurilor in secolul al XVII-LEA." Studii si Cercetari de Istoria Artei. Seria Arta Plastica Bucresti 27 (1980): 95-131, repro. 111.

1981: Lacau St. Guily, Agnès. "Images de la femme dans l'oeuvre de Georges de La Tour." Colóquio Artes 49 (June 1981): 22.

1982: Rosenberg, Pierre. La peinture française du XVIIe siècle dans les collections américaines. Exh. cat. Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Art Institute of Chicago. Paris, 1982: no. 5, 355, repro. (English ed., France in the Golden Age: Seventeenth-Century French Paintings in American Collections, New York, 1982).

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 308, no. 406, color repro.

1985: Bajou, Thierry. De La Tour. Milan, 1985: 69, repro.

1985: Del Bravo, Carlo. "Quadri a lume di notte: Georges de La Tour e Sant'Agostino." Artibus et historiae 11, VI (1985): 9+, repro.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 219, repro.

1991: Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: x, 263, 290, 295, repros.

1992: Lacau St Guily, Agnès. La Tour, une lumière dans la nuit. Belgium, 1992: 100-102, repro.

1992: National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 161, repro.

1992: Rosenberg, Pierre and Marina Mojana. Georges de La Tour: Catalogo completo dei dipinti. Florence, 1992: no. 24, repro.

1993: Conisbee, Philip. "Georges de La Tour's Repentant Magdalene." Exh. booklet, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1993.

1993: Thuillier, Jacques. Georges de La Tour. Translated by Fabia Claris. Paris, 1993: no. 43, 157, repro. (French ed., 1992).

1994: Ramade, Patrick. "Review of Jacques Thuillier, Georges de La Tour." The Burlington Magazine 136, no. 1096 (July 1994): 461.

1995: Le Floch, Jean-Claude. La Tour, le clair et l'obscur. Paris, 1995: 56, repro.

1995: Le Floch, Jean-Claude. Le signe de contradiction: essai sur Georges de La Tour et son oeuvre. Rennes, 1995: 49, 47, repro.

1995: Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York, 1995: 775, figs. 19-30; rev. ed. 1999: 774-775, figs. 19-26.

1996: Conisbee, Philip, et al. Georges de La Tour and His World. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, 1996-1997. Washington, 1996: no. 22, 102-109, 250-254, 271, repro.

1996: Du Bois de Cendrecourt, Louis. "Les Madeleines de Georges de La Tour." Le Pays Lorrain 93, 77, no. 1 (January-March 1996): 65-67.

1996: Seidel, Katrin. Die Kertze: Motivgeschichte und Ikonologie. Hildesheim, Zurich, and New York, 1996: 276, no. 17.8, repro.

1997: Bond, Bruce. Radiography. New York, 1997: cover, repro.

1997: Cuzin, Jean-Pierre, and Dimitri Salmon. Georges de La Tour: Histoire D'une Redécouverte. Paris, 1997: 104, repro. detail.

1997: Cuzin, Jean-Pierre, and Pierre Rosenberg. Georges de La Tour, Les expositions de l'oeil. Exh. cat. Galeries nationale du Grand Palais, Paris, 1997: 59, no. 37, repro.

1997: Fohr, Robert. Georges de La Tour: Le maître des nuits. Paris, 1997: 64, repro.

1999: Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. 2 vols. Revised ed. New York, 1999: 774-775, fig. 19-26.

2004: Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 176-177, no. 139, color repro.

2005: Fahy, Everett, ed. The Wrightsman Pictures. New Haven, 2005: 148-149, under cat. 41, fig. 2.

2009: Conisbee, Philip, et al. French Paintings of the Fifteenth through the Eighteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2009: no. 63, 272-278, color repro.

2013: Harris, Neil. Capital Culture: J. Carter Brown, the National Gallery of Art, and the Reinvention of the Museum Experience. Chicago and London, 2013: 164-165.