Save Venice is seeking a sponsor for the conservation of Jacopo Palma il Giovane’s Mary Magdalene.

*Published sponsorship costs are subject to change due to conservation plan modifications and fluctuations in exchange rates.

Please contact araby@savevenice.org today for more information and the latest cost estimates.

Likely painted in the early 1590s, this highly refined depiction of Mary Magdalene by Jacopo Palma Giovane was originally housed in the Church of Santa Lucia. The painting is first documented in 1733, when Anton Maria Zanetti described it as decorating the columns of the high altar, alongside a companion image of Sain Lucy (itself the subject of a Save Venice conservation project). The convent church of Santa Lucia was suppressed by Napoleonic decree on July 28, 1806, and demolished in 1860 to make way for the construction of Venice’s railway station. Most of the artworks that once adorned Santa Lucia were subsequently transferred to the neighboring Church of San Geremia.

Mary Magdalene, traditionally identified as the sister of Martha and Lazarus of Bethany, is remembered in Christian tradition as a repentant sinner whose story of conversion is recounted in the Gospel of Luke (7:36–50). There, in the house of Simon the Pharisee, she approaches Christ in humility and deep remorse. Overcome with emotion, she bathes his feet with her tears, gently wipes them with her hair, and, in a profound gesture of devotion and love, kisses them before anointing them with precious ointment. This powerful narrative of repentance and transformation has shaped her enduring legacy. Because of this dual identity—as both sinner and redeemed follower—Mary Magdalene stands as one of the most deeply venerated and relatable saints in Christianity, embodying the possibility of spiritual renewal and grace.

In Palma’s rendition of the theme, Mary Magdalene is portrayed as absorbed in her own inner drama, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. With a pensive gaze cast into the distance, she sits beside her dressing table, her hands occupied in untying the red lace that fastens a large, sumptuous golden mantle over her dress. On the table, alongside her traditional attribute—the jar of ointment—lie her jewels: a long gold chain, two bracelets adorned with pearls and precious stones, and a pearl necklace. Pearls also embellish her ears, while her hair is styled according to the fashion of the late 16th century, “with certain curls that make the form of a half moon with the points like horns,” as Cesare Vecellio described in his costume book Habiti antichi et moderni (1598). This distinctive hairstyle was intended to evoke the crescent moon associated with the chaste goddess Diana. Although it was common among Venetian noblewomen, it also became popular among the meretrici, or courtesans. Likewise, the conspicuous display of jewels—including pearls and golden bracelets—was characteristic of the so-called cortigiane oneste, or ‘honored’ courtesans, as exemplified by the dazzling and highly refined Venetian courtesan Veronica Franco.

Palma’s Mary Magdalene thus appears to be modeled on the figure of a Venetian cortigiana onesta, effectively translating the “sinful woman” of the Gospel of Luke into the visual and social world of late 16th-century Venice. By clothing her in contemporary dress and surrounding her with recognizable signs of luxury and worldly allure, the artist brings the biblical narrative into closer proximity with the viewer’s own experience. Mary Magdalene’s repentance becomes immediate and relatable: the beholder is invited to recognize in her not a distant, idealized saint, but a woman of their own time and city, capable of both moral frailty and profound spiritual transformation. In this way, Palma underscores the universal message of redemption, suggesting that divine grace remains accessible to all, regardless of social status or past transgressions.

The painting exhibits several condition issues, including a thick accumulation of surface dust and grime, as well as discolored and oxidized varnish that obscures the brilliance of the colors and the clarity of the details. It also shows multiple abrasions and areas of paint lifting, particularly along the edges.

Conservation treatment will address these concerns not only to ensure the work’s structural stability and long-term preservation, but also to restore its visual legibility, chromatic balance, and overall aesthetic coherence.

Jacopo Palma il Giovane (1548/50 – 1628)
Mary Magdalene
late 1590s, oil on canvas
96 x 78 cm

Bayer, Andrea (ed.). Art and Love in Renaissance Italy. Exhibition catalogue (New Yorn, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 11 November 2008 – 16 February 2009). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2008 pp. 47, 146-148

Fortini Brown, Patricia. Private Lives in Renaissance Venice. Art, Architecture, and the Family. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004, pp. 159-187

Mason, Stefania. Palma il Giovane. L’opera completa. Milan: Alfieri, 1984, pp. 121 (no 376), 184

Rosenthal, Margaret F. The Honest Courtesan. Veronica Franco Citizen and Writer in Sixteenth-Century Venice. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1992

Zanetti, Anton Maria. Descrizione di tutte le pubbliche pitture della citta di Venezia. Venice: Pietro Bassaglia, 1733, pp. 422-423