Saint Mary Magdalene Reading

The Master of the Female Half-Lengths painted this Saint Mary Magdalene Reading around 1530, one of the canonical examples of this anonymous master's specialty—half-length female figures in intimate absorbed activity. The reading Magdalene was among the most popular devotional images in sixteenth-century Flemish painting, combining the saint's scholarly devotion with the visual pleasure of depicting a beautiful woman in contemplative absorption. This master's version has the warm, intimate quality that characterized his best work: the Magdalene's reading absorbed attention, the careful rendering of her dress and hair, and the warm light that modeled her features all creating a devotional image of considerable personal appeal. The book she studies asserted her transformed identity as a scholarly contemplative contrasting with her previous worldly life.

The half-length figure of the reading Magdalene displays the workshop's characteristic idealized female type with meticulous attention to costume and accessories. The refined surface treatment and elegant composition are hallmarks of this anonymous master.