Saint Mary Magdalene

In August 1850 the paintings of the late King William II of the Netherlands were auctioned in The Hague, and the Louvre was among the bidders. It let this panel and its partner, a Saint John the Baptist, go by, judging them unessential and somewhat altered, and spent its money on a Rubens instead. Within months the museum changed its mind. On 10 February 1851 it bought both saints from the Dutch royal family for 11,728 francs. They are the wings of a small Memling altarpiece, separated from their centre long before. Mary Magdalene stands in a red and gold brocade dress, holding the covered jar of ointment that identifies her. The other sides of these wings, painted with Saints Stephen and Christopher, were sold separately and reached the art museum in Cincinnati in 1955.