Penitent Magdalene

An X-ray made in Madrid in 2023 found a different subject underneath. The right hand that now rests on a skull first held an asp, and the picture began as Cleopatra. The skull and the ointment jar that turn her into the Magdalene were painted in afterwards, and the study of the layers and pigments placed that change in the same campaign and the same hand. Converting one subject into another by altering a few objects was ordinary practice in the Gentileschi workshop, and the finding is now used as an argument for Artemisia's authorship.

The canvas surfaced in a private collection in Florida, was published and exhibited in London in 2023, and is still in private hands rather than a museum. It is dated between about 1625 and 1630. She leans on a red velvet cushion with her eyes shut and gold bracelets on the wrist.