Jan van Scorel: Mary Magdalene (ca. 1530); Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

This wonderful painting by Jan van Scorel depicts the biblical figure Mary Magdalene, the conversed prostitute that anointed the feet of Jesus Christ. After His crucifixion, she was the first one to find out that His tomb was empty and to witness Jesus’ resurrection. Mary Magdalene is traditionally recognizable by the vessel of ointment in her hands, but some other elements in the painting hint at her identity as well. For example, the cave in the background refers to the hermitage at the end of her life, while the Hebrew letters on her clothes memorize her Jewish origin. The old, dying tree on which new fresh branches grow symbolizes Mary’s positive life change.
Jan van Scorel (1495-1562) produced this panel around 1530, a few years after he returned from a long journey through Europe that took him to Germany (where he met Albrecht Dürer), Austria, Italy and the Holy Land. In Italy he got acquainted with contemporary art from people like Titian, Michelangelo and Raphael, especially after 1522, when Adrian VI (the only Dutch Pope ever!) appointed Van Scorel as keeper of the Belvedere art collection. Jan brought back all these impressions and influences, and, upon his return to The Netherlands, incorporated them into his paintings and taught them to his pupils.
Due to his own fascinating works, but even more for the profound influence he exerted on his Dutch contemporaries, Van Scorel is generally considered the most important Renaissance artist of the Low Countries.