GOSSART, Jan
(b. ca. 1478, Maubeuge, d. 1532, Middelburg)

Mary Magdalen

1506-08
Oil on oak panel, 29 x 22 cm
National Gallery, London

The unguent jar that she holds in her hands identifies the figure as Mary Magdalen. In terms of style, pose, and composition, Mary Magdalen is presented like a portrait, and indeed, she may represent a young woman in the guise of the saint. This type of representation became popular from the late fifteenth to the beginning of the sixteenth century.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.