Saint Mary Magdalene in ecstasy, supported by two angels
Original title: Saint Mary Magdalene in ecstasy, supported by two angels
kurzbeschreibung
Pieter de Bailliu produced this engraving between about 1630 and 1660. It depicts Saint Mary Magdalene in ecstasy, held up by two angels. The black-and-white print is the first of two states.
Description
Mary Magdalene lies at the centre on the ground, her eyelids closed, her face rapt. From left and right, two winged angels in long robes support her. Above a wooded landscape, a beam of light breaks through the sky. In the foreground, stones and a flask cast shadows. The overall layout feels mirror-symmetrical.
Context
As a seventeenth-century Flemish engraver, Pieter de Bailliu worked in Antwerp. His print falls in the Baroque era, which emphasised religious rapture and strong chiaroscuro effects. The motif of Magdalene in ecstasy was widespread in Catholic Baroque art and was seen as a sign of penance and divine grace.
Impact
The tension between light and shadow gives the sheet a dramatic, almost theatrical note. Finely engraved lines and the symmetrical arrangement create a calm yet insistent presence.
Technique
In engraving, lines are cut into a copper plate and then printed. The black-and-white execution underscores the play of light and shadow produced by the beam of light and the shadows of the objects.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)