Penitent Magdalene (Titian, 1565)

The Penitent Magdalene (titled Repentant Mary Magdalene in the Hermitage) is a 1560s oil painting by Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) of Saint Mary Magdalene, now in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The painting depicts Mary Magdalene who spent many years in the desert atoning for her sins The artwork was acquired from the Barbarigo Gallery in Venice, Italy and entered the Hermitage in 1850. Titian had kept this painting for himself and after his death Titian's son sold it along with other paintings to Cristoforo Barbarigo.

Unlike his 1531 version of the same subject, Titian has covered Mary's nudity and introduced a vase, an open book and a skull as a memento mori. Its colouring is more mature than the earlier work, using colours harmonising with character. In the background the sky is bathed in the rays of the setting Sun, with a dark rock contrasting with the brightly lit figure of Mary.