Detail of the Portrait of a Lady as Mary Magdalene by Bartolomeo Veneto in the Brooklyn Museum, March 2010

Portrait of a Lady as Mary Magdalen

Bartolomeo uses the device of the vase on the foreground parapet to prompt an association with Mary Magdalene, the saint believed to have anointed Christ’s feet. The rich embroideries and jewelry may refer to New Testament descriptions of Mary Magdalene as well as to the actual sitter’s status as a woman of wealth, while her frank, serious gaze suggests the piety of the saint, the lady’s likely namesake.


Artist: Bartolomeo Veneto, Italian,

North Italian School, active 1502-1531

Medium: Oil on cradled panel

Place Made: Italy

Dates: 1520s

Dimensions: 22 5/8 x 17 5/8 in. (57.5 x 44.8 cm) Frame: 46 x 34 in. (116.8 x 86.4 cm)

Collections: European Art

Museum Location: This item is on view in Beaux-Arts Court, North, 3rd Floor

Accession Number: 21.79

Credit Line: Bequest of A. Augustus Healy

Text from: www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/4385/portra...