The Penitent Magdalene

Mary Beale (née Cradock) was one of Britain’s first professional female painters. Although very little is known of Beale’s early artistic instruction, it is thought that her father, a rector and amateur painter, may have instilled in her a passion for painting. Detailed diaries and recordings made by her husband, which list the numerous commissions and works she completed annually, mean that substantial information is available on the professional life of Beale, a situation quite different from many other female artists of the period.

Beale is best known for her portraiture – paintings of friends and family, as well as commissions from London’s aristocracy. However, the religious nature of this painting makes it especially rare and important within Beale’s oeuvre. A devout Anglican throughout her lifetime, Beale has presented her Mary Magdalene as the embodiment of penance, her pose open and guileless, with her eyes directed heavenwards in devotion to Christ. The humble jar adjacent to Mary Magdalene’s elbow is her saintly motif – a vessel for holding the ointment with which she anointed Christ’s feet.

Tansy Curtin, Curator, International Art pre-1980