The Penitent Magdalen

A Genoese painter by birth and training, Stefano Magnasco travelled to Rome in around 1655, where he worked until 1660. Here his style developed particularly under the influence of Pietro da Cortona and Nicolas Poussin. The present work is an example of Magnasco's mature style, after he had fully assimilated these Roman influences, and Dottssa. Anna Orlando has suggested a date of around 1665, following the artist's return to Genoa. The facial types, the handling of the drapery and the landscape of the present work may all be compared with another work by the artist from the same period, The Sacrifice of Isaac (see A. Orlando, Stefano Magnasco e la cerchia di Valerio Castello, Milan, 2001, p. 117, no. 38).