Penitent Magdalen

In Counter-Reformation Spain the penitent Magdalene was a favourite subject, and El Greco returned to her again and again over his years in Toledo. This late treatment, from around 1607, shows the saint who had turned from a worldly life to devotion, her eyes lifted and glistening in the manner the theme always called for. The Church of the day held her up as proof that even the most fallen could be forgiven, which is why so many versions were painted for Spanish patrons. El Greco gives her the same elongated, weightless look he gave his martyrs and apostles, the figure almost dissolving into the restless sky behind her.