The Temptation of the Magdalene

What the painting depicts

Anthony the Great.

From the museum

In this half-length biblical painting, an aged woman offering tempting jewels—possibly the proprietor of a brothel—and an angel bestowing spiritual guidance battle for the soul of Mary Magdalene. A ghoulish demon emerges from the shadows in the background with a fistful of snakes, a menacing symbol of evil. Jacob Jordaens had already developed his own rich realism, with earthy figures and naturalistic shadows, by the time he executed this early work, probably for an upper-class home in his native Antwerp.

Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection; anonymous gift in honor of Kate and Morris Kaplan

Materials & technique

Materials: oil paint, panel.

Technique: panel painting, oil painting, painting, painting (image making), painting techniques.

Provenance

Private collection, Brussels, 1928 [see Brussels 1928, no. 34]. Édouard Napoléon César Edmond Mortier, duc de Trévise (died 1946), Paris [according to Jaffé in Ottawa 1968; it was not part of his sale in Paris, May 19, 1938]. Sold, Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, March 12, 1951, no. 57. Morris I. Kaplan (died 1966), Chicago; offered for sale, Sotheby's , London, June 12, 1968, no. 56, bought in; heirs of Morris I. Kaplan (on loan to the Art Institute of Chicago since 1969); sold to the Art Institute, 1991.

Where to see The Temptation of the Magdalene

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. View on the museum’s official page.

See more works at Art Institute of Chicago or browse the full Jacob Jordaens collection.