Saint Mary Magdalene

Previously attributed to Bernardino Luini and, more recently, to an anonymous Lombard painter, this Magdalene was only recognized as a collaborative effort between Callisto Piazza and Antonio del Ceraiolo by Andrea G. De Marchi in 2017 (loc. cit.). The panel bears a close relation to Piazza's Saint Catherine of Alexandria in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome. Indeed, the two paintings were likely conceived as a pair: both saints carry a single carnation stem and their gazes extend to the same point in the middle distance. The Magdalene was seemingly intended to hang to the left of Saint Catherine and, when placed side by side, the two saints sway symmetrically towards one another. Unfortunately, the Roman panel was cut down some time after its execution and, consequently, the dimensions of the paintings are no longer identical. The Saint Catherine is signed with initials on the sleeve of the saint ‘C.P.L.F.’: ‘Calistus de Platea Laudendis fecit’, confirming Callisto Piazza's authorship. Yet, the circular shape of the eyes of both saints is synonymous with the works of Antonio Ceraiolo (see his Magdalene in the Musée Condé di Chantilly; and his Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, formerly with Silbermann, New York), which indicates his involvement in the project. Both the Magdalene and the Saint Catherine were probably produced in or around Lodi circa 1520.