Saint Mary Magdalen Penitent

Goltzius’s elegant engraving of Mary Magdalen is one of his earliest prints to reflect the influence of Bartholomeus Spranger, the court painter to Rudolf II, whose work he was introduced to in 1583. Goltzius depicts several episodes from Magdalen’s life; her interactions with Christ and the moments that led to her becoming a penitent following his death. She is shown half kneeling in a rocky landscape, her hand on a skull, and weeping as she reads from her prayer book. In the foreground is a small but lavishly decorated jar holding the ointment she used to anoint Christ’s feet when he was dining with the Pharisee. In the background atop mount Golgotha, she can be seen again, kneeling at the foot of Christ on the Cross.

Partially nude, her drapery wrapped stylishly around her, Mary Magdalen has the exaggerated proportions characteristic of Northern Mannerist art. She appears to be almost weightless, her torso angled slightly back and her left leg barely touching the ground. Her pose echoes a drawing of the Magdalen by Spranger, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts et Archéologie, Besançon, but is not a direct copy.