Mary Magdalene Penitent

A young woman leans back with her face lifted toward the light, one hand at her chest and the other stretched out as if caught mid-plea. She is Mary Magdalene at a turning point, choosing a life of faith over one of comfort and wealth. Artemisia Gentileschi painted her in the bold Baroque style of the 1600s, using the sharp light and deep shadow that Caravaggio made popular. The glow falls across her face and shimmering gold dress while everything around her fades into darkness, so nothing distracts from what she feels.

Small clues fill in the rest of the story. The yellow gown and the blue cloak sliding from her shoulder point to the rich life she is walking away from, and the jeweled box and pearls set beside her stand for the pleasures she has chosen to leave behind. Gentileschi was one of the few women to build a real career as a painter in her era, and her own difficult life often shows up in the strong, feeling-filled women she painted. Rather than a flawless saint, her Magdalene comes across as a real person torn between two paths, which is what makes the scene so easy to connect with.