The Repentant Magdalene

“The Repentant Magdalene” attributed to Andrea del Verrocchio-not signed
The painting was given in 1952 to the DMWC from the Collins-Coskery Collection, after having been on loan to the club since the 1933-34 club year.

Attributed to Verrocchio (1435-1488), a 15th century Italian sculptor and painter. At one time this hung in the Metropolitan Museum in NYC.
Anonymous
Flanders (modern-day Belgium), c. 1680
The Repentant Magdalene
Oil on canvas; 84 in. x 54 in.
Collection of the Des Moines Women’s Club; Gift from the Collins-Coskery Family, 1952.

Restoration by conservator Barry Bauman has revealed this painting to be what Mr. Bauman has called “the finest large-scale Old Master painting in Des Moines.” Hidden under layers of darkened varnish and dirt, barely supported by a disintegrating canvas, the accumulated ravages of several centuries obscured The Repentant Magdalene. Thanks to the donated work of Mr. Bauman to the Hoyt Sherman Place Foundation, the vivid colors and masterful brushwork can once again be truly appreciated.

The subject is from traditions established in Church lore about Mary Magdalene, one of the earliest and most devoted of Christ’s followers. Though Biblical scholars continue to debate details about the Magdalene and her relationship to Jesus (disputes that were dramatized in the novel and movie The DaVinci Code), she has long been revered as a major saint. According to legend, Mary Magdalene began to follow Christ after a life of dissolution and sin, perhaps even of prostitution. After His death and ascension, she banished herself to the desert to remove herself from every temptation of this world and to atone for her sins of the flesh. Over the centuries, the symbols used in paintings to identify her (the iconography) evolved to reflect her beauty and then her rejection of the shallow and sinful pursuits of a worldly existence.

The painting presents Mary Magdalene as a still-beautiful woman with long, light-colored hair who has exiled herself into a harsh and rocky place. Nearby is a book, which could be a symbol of the Gospels in which she is first described or another book of Holy Scripture. The skull that supports the book is a reminder of the sin of vanity and the reality that time and death take away physical allure. Surrounding her are the angels who, according to legend, brought food to sustain her in her self-abnegating state in the desert. The most affecting aspect of the painting is the heart-felt and emotionally authentic expression of this penitent woman who looks above, eyes shining with tears. Her expressive face is sincerely sorrowful as she solicits forgiveness and turns her eyes to heaven.

This painting was conserved by Barry Bauman Conservation in 2016 with funds received from the Shirley & Kenneth Smith Estate.