Artwork
Santa Maria Maddalena
Santa Maria Maddalena is an unspecified painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Ambrogio Bergognone. It dates from 1515 and is held in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1515 by Ambrogio Bergognone, also known as Ambrogio da Fossano, this oil painting presents a standing figure of Mary Magdalene. The work is part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collection and exemplifies the transitional style of early seventeenth‑century Italian art, where Renaissance precision meets emerging Baroque dynamism.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is the biblical Mary Magdalene, identified by her gold halo and the contemplative pose. She raises her right hand in a gesture of devotion while grasping a tall, gilded implement in her left, a traditional attribute associated with penitence and spiritual revelation.
Technique & Style
Bergognone renders the saint with vivid coloration: a scarlet dress beneath a green mantle, set against a plain blue sky that recedes into a darker backdrop. The meticulous detailing of the fabrics and the luminous gold object reflects the Milanese synthesis of precise Renaissance modeling and the richer, more theatrical palette that anticipates Baroque sensibilities.
History & Provenance
After remaining in private or ecclesiastical hands for several centuries, the painting entered the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s holdings in the twentieth century, where it has been displayed as part of the museum’s European Renaissance collection.
Context
Working in the Lombard region, Bergognone operated at a time when Milanese artists were integrating the balanced composition of the High Renaissance with a growing interest in emotional expression and dramatic lighting, trends that would later define the Baroque era.
Artist & collection
Artist
Ambrogio Bergognone (variously known as Ambrogio da Fossano, Ambrogio di Stefano da Fossano, Ambrogio Stefani da Fossano or as il Bergognone or Ambrogio Egogni, c.
