1592, Jan Nagel, Mary Magdalene -- Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem)
From the museum label: Mary Magdalene, who abandoned her sinful life to follow Jesus, would become one of his first and truest adherents. After the Crucifixion, she lived as a pious recluse, which is how Jan Nagel depicted her, with a Bible on her lap. Her costly attire seems to jar with the ascetic ideal of life as a hermit. Although in the background Mary is shown again, kneeling at an altar in the simplest of dresses.
1592, Jan Nagel, Mary Magdalene -- Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem)
From the museum label: Mary Magdalene, who abandoned her sinful life to follow Jesus, would become one of his first and truest adherents. After the Crucifixion, she lived as a pious recluse, which is how Jan Nagel depicted her, with a Bible on her lap. Her costly attire seems to jar with the ascetic ideal of life as a hermit. Although in the background Mary is shown again, kneeling at an altar in the simplest of dresses.