The Penitent Magdalen

Titian and his workshop represented the penitent Magdalen in the desert, with her long auburn hair scarcely hiding her nakedness, on many occasions throughout his career from about 1535 onwards. The Magdalen is generally identified with the penitent harlot described in Luke (7:36 ff) who wept tears and wetted Christ's feet which she then wiped with her hair, kissed and anointed. One legend describes her as retreating into a grotto at Sainte-Baume in France as suggested by the cave in Dyce.42.

Titian's Magdalens became widely known early on through engravings by Domenico Tibaldi (ca. 1560-75) and Cornelis Cort (1566), good impressions of which are in the British Museum. The Magdalen in Dyce.42 is depicted with the same physiognomy and executed in a similar style to Titian's works but with differences in the pose, attributes and landscape. It is worth noting that none of Titian's versions depict a scourge whose inclusion in Dyce.42 underlines the Saint's repentant nature, suggesting that the patron for, or original location of, this work may have been a penitent community.