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Audio Stop 470

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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

According to the tenets of 17th-century Catholicism, Mary Magdalene was an example of the repentant sinner. She became one of Jesus’s most devoted followers, and he absolved her of her former sins. Here, 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 candlelight silhouettes Mary’s left hand, which rests on a skull that is placed on a book, which is then reflected in a mirror. The skull and mirror are emblems of vanitas, implying the transience of life.

Read full audio transcript

NARRATOR:
According to the Bible, Mary Magdalen was a sinful woman who gave up her worldly ways to become one of Christ’s most devoted followers. Here, the 17th-century painter Georges de la Tour depicts her repenting her past.

Philip Conisbee.

PHILIP CONISBEE:
“You’ll see she’s dressed in a very simple way, a white shirt, and a dark skirt. She’s leaning on a simple wooden table, one hand on a skull, which is placed on some books. And she’s looking into a mirror. In the mirror, what we see reflected is the skull. Behind the skull we see a flickering candle. These are all symbols of the vanity of the world. The fact that the flesh is temporary, the skull evidently, the mirror because it creates an illusion, and the flickering candle, too can be both the candle, the light of faith, if you like. But also its flickering nature can suggest temporality.”

“This painting has an incredible mood. More than fifty percent of the picture is in darkness. And we see just a little hint of this glimmering candlelight behind the skull, illuminating the Magdalene’s pensive features. She’s leaning on the table, rather melancholy pose—dreamy, thinking about her past, thinking about the true path, the true light which she sees, if you like, in the candle. That is the light of those who follow Christ.”

NARRATOR:
La Tour, a master of dramatic lighting, was known for candle-lit scenes like this one, where stark contrasts of light and shadow heighten the emotional impact.

PHILIP CONISBEE:
“The most illuminated part of the picture is the Magdalene’s sleeve. In a way, it almost draws attention away from her reflective face. I think La Tour maybe was even trying to shock you into wondering what this picture is all about. You first see the top of the candle flame, illuminated sleeve, and then you see her and the skull reflected in the mirror. It’s an oblique way of leading you into the subject. La Tour creates a very dramatic mood full of contemplation and a sense of the divine, I think.”

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