Santa Maria Maddalena

The painting, purchased by Monte dei Paschi di Siena in 1986, is one of the loftiest and most poetic compositions by Andrea del Brescianino.

Born in Brescia, Andrea Piccinelli was active as a painter in the early decades of the sixteenth century, moving between the cities of Siena and Florence. In Florence, Andrea came into contact with the harmonies and spacious compositions that Fra Bartolomeo was creating in his large altarpieces for the convent of San Marco.

Brescianino seems to take his inspiration for the full, perfectly balanced volume of this Mary Magdalene from these works. The open, softly blurred face of the young saint seems to offer a personal interpretation of the female prototypes of Raphael, while Brescianino’s pronounced preference for liquid, iridescent colors place this picture squarely in the Sienese artistic environment of the first decades of the sixteenth century. The bold juxtaposition of acid greens, bright pinks, and fiery reds in the cloak and dress worn by the saint constitute the highest expression of Brescianino’s participation in the Mannerist painting climate established in Siena as a result of the manifestations of the genius of Domenico Beccafumi.