Mary Magdalene
- Date
- 1519
- Material
- Oil on panel
- made in
- Amsterdam, Noord-Holland province, Netherlands, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- European Art to 1800
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 22 3/4 x 16 in. (57.8 x 40.6 cm)
framed: 32 1/8 x 24 5/8 x 4 3/8 in. (81.6 x 62.5 x 11.1 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Edward Mallinckrodt
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 138:1922
NOTES
Richly adorned in jewels, Mary Magdalene is portrayed as a wealthy woman in 16th-century dress. Renaissance Christians understood her to be an important early follower of Christ, saved from her life of prostitution by her conversion to Christianity. She holds and presents an ointment jar, alluding both to her former sensual pursuits and her anointment of Christ’s feet. The cavern in the background may also represent the cave where Mary spent the last years of her life as a hermit in seclusion and prayer. The opulent carpet and background landscape exemplify van Oostsanen’s meticulous attention to detail and textures.
Provenance
by 1904 -
Baron von Brenken, Westphalia, Germany [1]
by 1908 - 1917
Richard von Kaufmann (d.1908), Berlin, Germany [2]
1917/12/04
In auction, at the sale of the collection of Richard von Kaufmann, Paul Cassierer and Hugo Helbing, Berlin, December 4, 1917, lot no. 113 [3]
by 1922 -
Rudolph Chillingworth, Basel and Lucerne, Switzerland; Brussels, Belgium, Nuremberg, Germany [4]
1922/09/05 - 1922
Edward Mallinckrodt, St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased at the sale of the Chillingworth Collection, Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, Switzerland, September 5, 1922, lot no. 113
1922 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Edward Mallinckrodt [5]
Notes:
[1] According to a publication regarding the1904 exhibition, the painting was in von Brenken's ownership by this time [Scheibler, L. "Ausstellungen. Die kunsthistorische Ausstellung zu Düsseldorf 1904." "Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft." Edited by Henry Thode and Hugo von Tschudi. Berlin: Druck und Verlag von Georg. Reimer, 1904, cat. no. 198, p. 551].
[2] Upon Richard von Kaufmann's death in 1908, the painting remained in his estate until the sale of his collection in 1917 ["Die Sammlung Richard von Kaufmann, Berlin." Paul Cassierer and Hugo Helbing, Berlin, December 4, 1917, lot no. 113]. Ulrich Theime lists the work as being in the collection of Richard von Kaufmann at the time of his 1912 publication [Theime, Ulrich. "Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bus zur Gegenwart." Vol. 7. Zwickau: F. Ullmann, 1912, p. 429].
[3] See note [2].
[4] According to a 1922 sales catalogue, the painting was in the ownership of Rudolph Chillingworth. It is not known if he purchased the painting at the 1917 sale of von Kaufmann's collection [Fischer, Theodore. "Catalogue de la Collection Chillingworth Tabeaux Anciens XIIIe - XVIIe Siècles Écoles Flammande, Hollandaise, Allemande et Italienne." Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, Sept. 5, 1922, lot no. 25]. Jane Carroll places the Chillingworth Collection in Nuremburg and Basel prior to its sale in 1922 while the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. notes his locations as being Lucerne, Brussels, and Nuremberg [Carroll, Jane Louise. "The Paintings of Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen." Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1987, p. 239; "Rudolph Chillingworth," National Gallery of Art, accessed May 4, 2005].
[5] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, December 8, 1922.
Baron von Brenken, Westphalia, Germany [1]
by 1908 - 1917
Richard von Kaufmann (d.1908), Berlin, Germany [2]
1917/12/04
In auction, at the sale of the collection of Richard von Kaufmann, Paul Cassierer and Hugo Helbing, Berlin, December 4, 1917, lot no. 113 [3]
by 1922 -
Rudolph Chillingworth, Basel and Lucerne, Switzerland; Brussels, Belgium, Nuremberg, Germany [4]
1922/09/05 - 1922
Edward Mallinckrodt, St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased at the sale of the Chillingworth Collection, Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, Switzerland, September 5, 1922, lot no. 113
1922 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Edward Mallinckrodt [5]
Notes:
[1] According to a publication regarding the1904 exhibition, the painting was in von Brenken's ownership by this time [Scheibler, L. "Ausstellungen. Die kunsthistorische Ausstellung zu Düsseldorf 1904." "Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft." Edited by Henry Thode and Hugo von Tschudi. Berlin: Druck und Verlag von Georg. Reimer, 1904, cat. no. 198, p. 551].
[2] Upon Richard von Kaufmann's death in 1908, the painting remained in his estate until the sale of his collection in 1917 ["Die Sammlung Richard von Kaufmann, Berlin." Paul Cassierer and Hugo Helbing, Berlin, December 4, 1917, lot no. 113]. Ulrich Theime lists the work as being in the collection of Richard von Kaufmann at the time of his 1912 publication [Theime, Ulrich. "Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bus zur Gegenwart." Vol. 7. Zwickau: F. Ullmann, 1912, p. 429].
[3] See note [2].
[4] According to a 1922 sales catalogue, the painting was in the ownership of Rudolph Chillingworth. It is not known if he purchased the painting at the 1917 sale of von Kaufmann's collection [Fischer, Theodore. "Catalogue de la Collection Chillingworth Tabeaux Anciens XIIIe - XVIIe Siècles Écoles Flammande, Hollandaise, Allemande et Italienne." Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, Sept. 5, 1922, lot no. 25]. Jane Carroll places the Chillingworth Collection in Nuremburg and Basel prior to its sale in 1922 while the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. notes his locations as being Lucerne, Brussels, and Nuremberg [Carroll, Jane Louise. "The Paintings of Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen." Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1987, p. 239; "Rudolph Chillingworth," National Gallery of Art, accessed May 4, 2005
[5] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, December 8, 1922.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.