Krystal Aponte

Arth 1103-D412

Art History Museum Paper

The Penitent Magdalen Portrait of a Woman Artist: Georges de La Tour, French, Artist: Giovanni Battista Gaulli, 1593–1653 Italian, 1639- 1709 Medium: Oil on canvas Medium: Oil on canvas Date: ca. 1640 Date: ca. 1670s Dimensions: 52 1/2 x 40 1/4 in. Dimensions: 29 7/8 × 23 3/8 in. Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Credit Line: Gift of Álvaro Saieh Wrightsman Bendeck, Jean-Luc Baroni, Fabrizio Accession Number: 1978.517 Moretti, in honor of Keith Christiansen Accession Number: 2014.277

17th Century Women at The Metropolitan Museum

This formal comparison of a French and an Italian painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,

The Penitent Magdalen (ca. 1640) by Georges De La Tour and Portrait of a Woman (1670s) by Giovanni

Battista Gaulli, brings attention to two different types of women that lived in the same century. The two

women in the paintings are sitting down in front of a dark background at an angle with their heads

tilted. They also both have a very pale porcelain-like skin complexion and have dark hair that is let loose.

The Penitent Magdalen portrait depicts a woman around mid-twenty's sitting on a chair in a

dark room in front of what appears to be a vanity. Her posture is relaxed to where she looks a little

hunched over. Her hands are loosely crossed together so that her fingers look like they are hanging

instead of gripped to the hands. They are placed on top of a skull that she has sitting on her lap.

Magdalen was painted wearing a white billowy long-sleeved blouse that has some pleating on the chest

with a long red/orange colored skirt with two gold stripes going down the center of the skirt and

continuing around the hemline of the skirt. that goes down past her feet. Her hair long dark hair is

straight and parted down the middle. Part of her hair is highlighted because of the light coming from the

candle. Her skin is pale and free of imperfections. So pale that she conveys a kind of ghostly appearance.

She does not seem to be wearing any makeup on her face and even though her bottom half is covered

her blouse has a very low neckline. Which would lead one to believe she’s not as modest as she appears

to be.

Although she is slightly turned away from the viewer looking into the mirror, one can still tell by

her posture, lack of expression and how she stares into the mirror that there seems to be a sense of

loneliness or regret. Perhaps she is a courtesan, a loved one has left her, or she has done something

terrible and is now reminiscing and feels remorse. She is sitting in front of what appears to be a vanity

because of the table and a mirror placed on top of it. The table looks like a plain wooden table while the

mirror’s frame appears to be gold with some intricate detailing around the frame. On top of the table

there is a single candle burning on a gold candle holder with some pearl necklaces lying tangled up on

one side and a single pearl earring on the other side of the candle. She also has some jewelry on the

floor next to her feet. To some it may seem like the focal point of this painting is the skull on Magdalen’s

lap which could be a sign that death is near. Georges De La Tour created the painting using the

tenebroso painting technique where the image has a dramatic contrast between light and dark. The dark

can be seen with the shadows the candle casts behind the mirror, under the table, behind and next to

Magdalen. The light areas can be seen with the highlighted area around the mirror frame, on the skull

and on Magdalen’s body. De La Tour’s use of highlighting and shadows created a painting so realistic

and three-dimensional that The Penitent Magdalen looks like a photo.

In contrast to The Penitent Magdalen, Portrait of a woman is a more simplistic painting because

it is a portrait so there is only the subject and nothing in the background. Portraits were very popular

during this time because it allowed one to show off their wealth and power. The viewer can tell by the

way the woman is dressed that she is probably of a higher status. The woman is sitting at an angle and

has her head turned to the left and slightly tilted giving a side glance at the viewer. Her posture is poised

but relaxed. She is dressed in an elegant plum colored silk dress with puffy sleeves and layers of lace

around the ends of the sleeves and neck. There is a large gold pendant in the center of the chest are on

her dress which has pearls dangling off the end. The dress is also embellished with brass colored jewelry

with clear or perhaps crystal pendants in the center, and white pearls. The woman’s dark brown eyes

are open wide and look bright, which the painter imitated with a small white dot in each eye. She also

has curly black hair which accentuates her dark eyes and is half pinned up to show her pearl earring.

While the rest of her hair flows down the back of her neck there is a strand of her curls that lays

between her right shoulder and neck. There appears to be a thin, almost transparent, veil around the

back of her head that drapes down her shoulders and flows over her right arm. If one looks closely into

her hair there is a little clear ball which might be attached to a pin holding up her hair or keeping the veil

in place against her head. She is not wearing any jewelry around her neck exposing her collarbone,

which is an area one would consider one of the most flirtatious parts of the female body. Although her

skin is very pale like The Penitent Magdalen the woman has a rosy flush of color on her cheeks and lips.

This with the contrast between her dark hair and skin gives her a lively and youthful look.

The woman gives the viewer a seductive smile and has her right hand raised coyly playing with

the strings of pearls on her dress with her thumb and index finger. It is as if she is flirting with the viewer

or perhaps, she has a secret she is keeping from the viewer. She is painted in front of a gray background

with a gradient effect, where it is darker along the border of the canvas and gradually get lighter as it

gets closer to the woman. The area around her head is highlighted which makes the woman to appear

to be glowing or radiating a sense of confidence. Gaulli used shadows to help create the folds around

the bottom of the woman’s jaw and neck. As well as around the wrists where her hand is bent, under

her fingers to show that her last three fingers are being raised and on the sleeves of the dress to

emphasize the puffiness of the sleeves. Although the paint strokes are visible on the woman’s skin the

texture it helps to make the skin look more lifelike. Paint strokes can also be seen on the veil as it helps

the veil appear to be flowing down her arm. Despite the relaxed and dark mood of these two paintings,

the painters were able to use different painting techniques to make both paintings capture the very

different personalities of these 17th century women.