painting (oil): ["The Penitent Magdalen in a Landscape"]

The Magdalen sits outside the entrance to a cave. Her long blonde hair is loose and she is naked from the waist up. She wears a red cloak around her shoulders and a blue cloak across her knees. She gestures to the right at her discarded finery; a fringed shawl of green, orange and rose-coloured stripes, a string of pearls and a white cloth patterned with a rose motif. On her left are two of the attributes commonly associated with the penitent - an open book and a skull. The Magdalen looks upwards towards three Cherubim who watch her from a cloud in the upper right corner of the composition. The representation of the magdalen raising tear-filled eyes towards a vision of angels in heaven was common in baroque painting. The cave setting references the medieval legend that in later life Mary Magdalene lived as a hermit in a grotto at Saint-Baume in France. Virag 12/12/2004, Between 1984 and 1985, a research assistant, Dr. Brendan Cassidy, was employed by Nottingham Castle Museum to research and write a catalogue of the foreign oil paintings in their collection. The catalogue never materialised, but drafts and notes relating to Cassidy's research can be found in the Artist Files and in the Archive at the museum. All references to Cassidy relate to these documents. On the front: There is a small scrtach to the right of the Magdalen and scratching of the paint surface also down the left ledge, which could have been caused by a frame. Cassidy believes there to be a trace of an illegible inscription in the lower right-hand corner. On the reverse: There is a cradle on the reverse which appears newer than the production date of the NCM 1904-100 1. In black paint: "Room D29" (Probably relates to a previous location of NCM 1904-100 at Nottingham Castle Museum, where the galleries are labelled A-F) 2. NCM accession number 3. In white chalk: "[U] 18" (probably a saleroom mark) Virag 12/12/2004, Collection of Richard Godson Millns.