Marie-Madeleine attributed to Claude DERUET (1588-1660)

Oil on oak panel

Dimensions: 64 x 50 cm excluding frame

Antique frame with inverted profile

A painter from Lorraine, born in Nancy, he was a student of Jacques Bellange but quickly left for Rome to study the great masters of Italian painting. Upon his return to France in 1621, he was ennobled and made a Knight of the Order of Saint Michael in 1645 by Louis XIII. He often uses warrior mythology, combining violence and delicacy to glorify the intrepid heroine. The decorative aspect is dominant in Claude Deruet's work. A disciple of Jesus, Mary Magdalene is one of the women who supported Jesus' ministry from their own resources (Gospel of Luke), which implies that she was wealthy. The painter presents Mary Magdalene with bare shoulders, adorned with jewels; she holds the ciborium in one hand and in the other her gold and precious stone necklace, which she is removing. She wears a delicate diadem atop her blond hair, her face inclined to reveal a white pearl earring. She is a woman who will repent and become this biblical figure of devotion and penance.