The Magdalen Weeping

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

How you can use this image

This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).

Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.

The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Buy a print or image licence

You can purchase this reproduction

If you have any products in your basket we recommend that you complete your purchase from Art UK before you leave our site to avoid losing your purchases.

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

This is Saint Mary Magdalene, one of Christ’s followers, identifiable from the pot of expensive ointment with which she anointed Christ’s feet. This painting was once joined to another panel, and was probably the left wing of a triptych (a painting made of three parts). Mary’s dress is cloth-of-gold with a purple design. Over it, she wears a second dress, open at the front and laced across the other under her breasts. The upper sleeves, now green, were once purple. Her fair hair is covered with a patterned cap and two veils, one semi-transparent, one white. The colourful clothes and expensive textiles allude to her sinful past, although the sleeves and shape of the veil bear some relation to contemporary fashions. We don't know the name of the artist but he is called the Master of the Magdalen Legend after a large triptych, now broken up, showing episodes from the life of Mary Magdalene, probably painted in the mid-1520s.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Magdalen Weeping

Date

about 1525

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 52.7 x W 38.1 cm

Accession number

NG3116

Acquisition method

Layard Bequest, 1916

Work type

Painting

Tags

See a tag that’s incorrect or offensive? Challenge it and notify Art UK.

Help improve Art UK. Tag artworks and verify existing tags by joining the Tagger community.

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.
View venue