Mary Magdalene - Flemish school of the 17th century

Mary Magdalene giving up the vanities of this world.

Oil on oak panel. Flemish school of the seventeenth century attributed to a painter of the entourage of Frans II Francken (known as the Younger).
Saint Magdalene is painted with the symbols of wealth of her past life: gold jewelry set with stones, pearl necklace, precious stuffs ... Lightened by divine light and animated by grace, she will surpass her sins. She incarnates the possible redemption of humanity and is in fact a particularly venerated saint. This way of representing Madeleine is sometimes called "vanity".

Our painting is in a rich polychrome frame from the end of the 16th century.

Total dimensions with frame: 54 x 45 cm

Frans II Francken or Frans Francken the Younger (Antwerp 1581 - Antwerp 1641).
Son of Frans I, he is the most famous of the Francken dynasty. He excels in the most diverse genres and specializes in the painting of small and medium size (also known as cabinet paintings). He painted plenty of biblical, mythological and historical scenes with many characters.
His painting is of brilliant and lightweight craftsmanship, extremely smooth and transparent. His colors are clear and shimmering, the shadows are sparse. Frans is incredibly prolific, sometimes he is inspired by old engravings but also by some paternal works.