Title: Penitent Magdalene

Artist: Tiziano Vecellio

The Penitent Magdalene 1560s Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) Italian, about 1488–1576 Oil on canvas Reacting to the rise of Protestantism in the late 1500s, artists in Catholic Italy made pictures designed to reaffirm viewers' faith through intense emotional imagery. Mary Magdalene, a prostitute who rejected the life of the flesh, provided one of the most compelling images of the repentant sinner. Her popularity is reflected in the numerous versions of this composition painted by Titian late in his career. Here the beautiful Magdalene gazes heavenward and weeps openly for her sins and newfound love of God.