Spanish school of the seventeenth century."Penitent Magdalene".Oil on canvas.Measurements: 95 x 72 cm; 110 x 86 cm (frame).In this canvas Mary Magdalene is represented as a penitent in the desert (not understood in the scriptures as such, but as an isolated and uninhabited place), dressed in a simple sackcloth, with her hair loose, in a cave. The saint is represented next to the crucifix, the Holy Scriptures and the skull.Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the New Testament as a distinguished disciple of Christ. According to the Gospels, she housed and materially provided for Jesus and his disciples during their stay in Galilee, and was present at the Crucifixion. She was a witness of the Resurrection, as well as the one in charge of transmitting the news to the apostles. She is also identified with the woman who anointed Jesus' feet with perfumes before his arrival in Jerusalem, so her main iconographic attribute is a knob of essences, like the one shown here. While Eastern Christianity honors Mary Magdalene especially for her closeness to Jesus, considering her "equal to the apostles", in the West the idea developed, based on her identification with other women in the Gospels, that before meeting Jesus she had dedicated herself to prostitution. Hence the later legend narrates that she spent the rest of her life as a penitent in the desert, mortifying her flesh. In art she was preferably depicted in this way, especially in the 17th century, a time when Catholic societies felt a special fascination for the lives of mystics and saints who lived in solitude in wild places, dedicated to prayer and penance. The story of this saint serves as an example of Christ's forgiveness, and conveys the message of the possibility of redemption of the soul through repentance and faith.