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Mary Magdalene, a disciple of Jesus, is an emblematic figure of Christianity. She is the only woman to accompany Jesus and witness his ascent to heaven, and is nicknamed the apostle of the apostles by many.
the light of dusk invades her retreat and her body.
Her hair is down, her face unblemished, and she is dressed in a simple but high-quality vermilion-red garment, synonymous with beauty but also with her passion for Jesus, from which the whiteness of her skin emerges, creating an atmosphere that combines spirituality, humanity and sensuality.
Her gaze is fixed on a skull that she is holding in her hand in the manner of Saint Gérôme,
. The skull is a reminder of the brevity of earthly life.
On the carpet, pearls are scattered, signifying sincere love and purity. A ring in the background indicates her decision.
When Louis XIV visited Jean Baptiste Santerre's studio, he was not mistaken; the painting appealed to him, the Sun King, the great monarch; he learned that it was a commissioned painting for a collector; what the King wanted, the King got; the painting of Mary Magdalene would hang in the King's flats.
(inventory of the King's paintings by Nicolas Bailly 1709 (Bnf ref 0² 1972).
Several versions were commissioned and produced by Jean-Baptiste Santerre with the help of Blandine Blanchot, his companion and the artist's main collaborator.
-In particular, an enlargement of the work (14 inches wide) paid by King Louis XIV 200 livres to Jean Baptiste Santerre in 1712 measuring 81.7 cm x 138 cm (inventories of the King's paintings by Nicolas Bailly Bnf ref: 01 1972). conversion inch 2.702 cm.
- a canvas measuring 113.5 cm x 92 cm (42 inches x 34 inches) restored in 1789 at the Louvre " de Santerre, Magdeleine pénitente : beaucoup de repints et de crasse raccordés des places endommagés pour 50 livres ( Bnf cahier de dépense du louvre 1789 A.N.O.1931).
Born in Magny en Vexin in 1651, after a short apprenticeship in drawing with a small master, he joined the studio of the painter Bon Boullogne around 1676, where his work was highly acclaimed. After opening a small studio in Paris, he produced a number of portraits of classical style, but always striving for perfection, he studied anatomy for several years and his style moved away from the academic style to sketch moments of life, introducing pshycology into his paintings and daring to depict figures far from the usual postures: the dreamer, the sleeping girl, the beggar woman...
He was a great success, exhibiting at the Salon de Peinture and in 1704 being admitted to the Académie de Peinture with his painting ‘Suzanne et les vieillards’, now in the Louvre.
He became the king's painter and was housed at the Louvre from 1708. He died prematurely in 1717, and Blandine Blanchot was his universal legatee.
Very fine frame from the period
size without frame: 103 cm x 100 cm
size with frame: 134 cm x 131 cm
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
