''St Mary Magdalene Reading'' is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter

Piero di Cosimo Piero di Cosimo (2 January 1462 – 12 April 1522), also known as Piero di Lorenzo, was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. He is most famous for the mythological and allegorical subjects he painted in the late Quattrocento; he is said to ...

. It is housed in the

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica or National Gallery of Ancient Art is an art museum in Rome, Italy. It is the principal national collection of older paintings in Rome – mostly from before 1800; it does not hold any antiquities. It has two ...

Palazzo Barberini The Palazzo Barberini ( en, Barberini Palace) is a 17th-century palace in Rome, facing the Piazza Barberini in Rione Trevi. Today, it houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, the main national collection of older paintings in Rome. History ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Description

The work depicts Mary Magdalene at a window-like table, reading a bible. She is dressed in a contemporary multicolor gown and cape; she is identifiable as the Magdalen by her long slightly curled hair draping over her shoulders and the bottle of unguent on the shelf beside her. She wears a ring of pearls in her hair. Around her hair a filigree of a halo. On the sill is the painter's signature. The use of shadows to give dimension to the face, and the settled pose of the Magdalen, identify the work as emerging from Piero di Cosimo's late works, influence by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

.Entry at Galleria Nazionale
The intended patron of the work is not identified. Mary Magdalen paintings were sometimes desired by individuals bearing the name, however, there were also monasteries dedicated to fallen women which were often dedicated to this saint.

References

1501 paintings Paintings by Piero di Cosimo Madonna and Child Tarquinia(Lippi) Books in art Paintings depicting Mary Magdalene {{16C-painting-stub