The Magdalen

Giulio Carpioni was a painter and etcher who worked for most of his life in Venice and the Veneto. He may have spent some time in Rome, as his work shows the influence of Caravaggio, Pietro Testa, and Nicolas Poussin. His 20 or so etchings also demonstrate the strong impact of Simone Cantarini’s linearity. Transcending her desolate hermitage with upraised eyes, Carpioni’s penitent Magdalen exhibits a physical and acrid fervor that is unusual for a female saint.