Lot Essay
A close variant with numerous minor differences, notably in the form and position of the Magdalen's ointment jar and of the jewel on her dress, and recorded as measuring 47 x 33cm., was with Raimundo Ruiz in Madrid in 1929 (G. Marlier, Ambrosius Benson et la Peinture à Bruges au Temps de Charles-Quint, Damme, 1957, pp. 196 and 309,
no. 102, pl. XLVII; M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, XI, ed. H. Pauwels, Leyden and Brussels, 1974, p. 99,
no. 275a, pl. 175). Marlier's observations about the Ruiz picture apply equally to the present work. He points out that the face of the Magdalen is very similar to that of the Virgin in the Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist offered at Christie's, New York, 11 January 1995, lot 84, and that both paintings are of a markedly Italianate character. While the Holy Family is dated 1527, he suggests that, on the grounds of costume, the Magdalen may date from a few years later.
no. 102, pl. XLVII; M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, XI, ed. H. Pauwels, Leyden and Brussels, 1974, p. 99,
no. 275a, pl. 175). Marlier's observations about the Ruiz picture apply equally to the present work. He points out that the face of the Magdalen is very similar to that of the Virgin in the Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist offered at Christie's, New York, 11 January 1995, lot 84, and that both paintings are of a markedly Italianate character. While the Holy Family is dated 1527, he suggests that, on the grounds of costume, the Magdalen may date from a few years later.