Lot number 3744 - Auction
DIE BÜSSENDE MARIA MAGDALENA, UM 1610

WORKSHOP OF EL GRECO ('Actually Domínikos Theotokópoulos') c. 1541 Candia in Crete - 7 April 1614 Todedo THE PENITENT MARIA MAGDALENA, C. 1610 Oil on canvas (relined). 106 x 92 cm (F. 124 x 110 cm). Part. slightly rest., min. old retouching (restoration report by Rubén Delgado enclosed). Frame of the probably 16th century. In his two-volume catalogue raisonné of the works of El Greco's of 1970, José Camón Aznar identifies the work offered here as a work of El Greco's workshop, thus contradicting Según Wethey. In the restoration report of 2015, Rubén Delgado writes: 'There are three surviving copies of this version ... And perhaps a fourth that is the subject of this restoration. During the restoration process, indications emerged that our painting originated as a version of the Sitges painting ...'. If one compares the version of the painting from the church Iglesia de 'San Juan Bautista' in Toledo offered here with the painting of the penitent Magadalena in the Museum 'Cau Ferrat' in Sitges, it will not have escaped the attentive observer that the composition and colouring of the painting and especially their message have changed fundamentally. Whereas the Barcelona version still shows Magdalena as a repentant sinner with her eyes downcast and dressed entirely in red as a sinner, in the Toledo Madonna the colours dissolve and are interspersed with bright white and blue areas in the garment. Of decisive importance, however, is that Magdalena's angle of vision has changed and she now looks directly at the Saviour on the cross with shining eyes; the Saviour, in turn, looks at Magdalena. The content of the picture and its interpretation have changed fundamentally: the humility and repentance of the Barcelona version have become redemption and forgiveness of sins. Since the picture was probably painted shortly before El Greco's death, this reversal of the picture's meaning becomes very understandable. Literature: Aznar, José Camón: Dominico Greco, Madrid 1950, p. 1379, no. 462, fig. 290. Aznar, José Camón: Dominico Greco, Madrid 1957, p. 1379, no. 471, fig. 324. Manzini, Gianna: L'opera completa del Greco, Milano, p. 125, no. 202 (there attributed to El Greco). Munich Yearbook of Fine Arts. Dritte Folge Band IX/X 1958/59, Munich, 1959, pp. 234 and 244. Parro. Toledo en la Mano. 1854 (2 volumes Sights in Toledo), Magdalene by El Greco in the Iglesia 'Ildefonso', Toledo. Provenance: Probably in the Jesuit church 'Ildefonso' and in the Iglesia 'San Juan Bautista' in Toledo since its origin. According to Camon Aznar (1970), loan to the 'Santa Cruz' Museum, Toledo. After the 'Ildefonso' Church was renovated in 1990, various works of art were sold for its financing. Restoration 2015 Atelier Rubén Delgado. Christie's South Kensington auction of 02 November 2016, lot 64 (as after El Greco). Rhineland private collection.