Mary Magdalene

This painting from 1470 by Alvise Vivarini demonstrates the vitality of fifteenth-century Italian painting during the flourishing of the Early Renaissance. Alvise Vivarini approaches the subject with distinctive artistic vision, producing a work of both technical accomplishment and expressive power. The decades around mid-century saw the establishment of major artistic dynasties and workshop traditions that would train the next generation of Renaissance masters.

Executed with skilled technique and attention to careful observation, the work reveals Alvise Vivarini's characteristic approach to composition and surface. The treatment of light and the careful modulation of color create visual richness within a unified pictorial scheme.