Mary Magdalen in Penitence
by GRECO, El, Oil on canvas, 108 x 87 cm
The Penitent Magdalen is one of the most recurrent themes. She and Saint Veronica, both close to Christ and His Passion, are the only female Saints El Greco treated. A comparison with the Saint Sebastian indicates a somewhat later dating. An earlier version, signed, of identical pose, is in the Art Museum, Worcester, U.S.A.; and one of the final representation s is the ecstatic Magdalene in the Vald�s Collection, Bilbao. The painting is based on a Titian type, although there is no record that he portrayed the Saint before he moved to Spain.