The figure of Saint Mary Magdalene was very dear to the Cardinal as an image of sincere penitence and true love of Christ. According to the classic tradition, a good rendering of Mary Magdalene was to contain three elements: the aesthetic, in the form of female beauty, the penitential, generally with a stark landscape, and the ecstatic. This painting, which is derived from the Mary Magdalene of the Palatine Gallery in Florence, is praised in the Musaeum for “the artist’s skill in maintaining proper modesty in such nudity”, and indeed the viewer’s eye is immediately attracted by the saint’s face enraptured in ecstasy. Recent cleaning of the canvas has more clearly revealed, to the left of Mary Magdalene, the jar of ointment, her iconographic emblem. More importantly, it has also uncovered the artist’s signature (Titianus fecit – “Titian made [it]”).
From May 15 to 27, the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan hosts Art in Respect – A dialogue, a solo exhibition by artist and couturier Filippo Sorcinelli.
To celebrate Mother's Day, on Sunday 11 May the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana is offering free admission to all mothers accompanied by their children.
