AFTER MICHELANGELO MERISI DA CARAVAGGIO | Mary Magdalen in Ecstasy

oil on canvas Caravaggio's 'Mary Magdalen in Ecstasy' is known through many copies. The canvas in a private collection in Rome is thought most likely to be the original by Caravaggio of 'circa' 1610.1 In his dramatic representation of the saint, Caravaggio has stripped away her traditional symbols such as the skull and the hourglass, and tells her story as a triad of intensely emotive contrasts: red, white and black. Mary Magdalen was the woman taken in adultery and who then grievously repented her sins of the flesh. To be saved, as Saint Paul wrote, she had first to die an agonising death to sin. 1 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_magdalene_caravaggio.jpg

All paintings available to view at the Sotheby’s Greenford Park warehouse, 5 - 7 and 10 – 13 September (10 - 4pm), by appointment. The canvas is lined and uneven in its stretcher. There are some old damages including a restored damage at the lower right in the drapery, a small patch on her left upper thigh, and a much larger patch in the background top left. There are small losses thoughout and there is a small knock to the canvas, and associated paint loss in her neck. Inspection under UV light reveals other retouchings throughout, for example in her hands, and in the profile of her upturned face. The varnish is very discoloured and the paint surface dirty.
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