Life and Art of Artemisia Gentileschi > Mary Magalene as Melancholy > Next Painting

Mary Magalene as Melancholy

c. 1621-22

Oil on canvas

1.365m by 1.00m

Soumaya Museum, Mexico City.

The Painting.

AArtemisia made a copy of the Seville Magdalen. There are a number of differences between the two paintings. The most noticeable change is that in the Seville version the veil over the sitter's left shoulder, covers most of the underarm and breast, whereas this is more exposed in this version. It is likely that the larger veil was added at the request of the cathedral for modesty's sake.

The Artist's Life.

It was not unusual for artists to paint a copy of their work, sometimes with the plan to sell it at a later date. Of course, other artists were known to copy the works of others. However, in this case, despite differences in them, there is enough evidence that both versions were done by Artemisia.

