Penitent Saint Mary Magdalene in a Landscape

This beautifully executed needlework picture was almost certainly made as one of a series of panels ornamenting the exterior of a small, wooden cabinet. Executed in oak with ebony veneers and softwood detailing, such curiosity cabinets were a specialty of Antwerp, emulating pricier lacquered versions imported from Japan and China. These cabinets were prized to house, and show off, collections of natural or artificial precious and rare objects, their multiple little doors and drawers each ornamented with a painted or textile panel, rendering the very act of their opening a privileged exploration of artistic discovery.

This representation of the Magdalene is expertly and professionally worked in raised embroidery with silk, precious metal thread and pearls on silk. It takes its design from a figure type created by Philippe de Champaigne (1602–1674) set within a rocky landscape popularized in prints of the penitent saint by Giovanni Battista Lombardelli (1532–1587) and Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617).