Bartholomeus Douven

Private collection, France.

The painting is executed on a single piece of oak panel which is flat, stable, beveled on all four sides, and without cradling.The picture is under a uniformly dirty varnish which could be freshened up and the picture would brighten considerably. Under UV only a few very tiny retouches are visible in the background. These are quite minor and there are no retouches at all to speak of in the figure of the Magdalene. With a fresh and varnish the picture could be hung in its current state. Overall in very nice condition with good retention of detailing. In a carved ebonized frame.
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Little is known about the life of Bartholmeus Douven. He was born in Düsseldorf and studied with Adriaen van der Werff. Although he painted historical pictures and portraits, Douven was best known for his rendering of nudes, often in mythological and religious themes, like in this example. The artist Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639) painted a similar composition now in a private collection, New York, which could have served as an inspiration for Douven.¹ Although both place Magdalene in a similar setting, with the motif of a skull, the artists chose to depict her agony in different ways. Orazio tilts her head back in an overly exaggerated way, a testament to the discomfort she feels, while Douven lets her heavy head rest on her hand as if to represent the pain she has to carry. 

1. See K. Christiansen and J. Mann, Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi, New York 2001, pp. 174-177, cat. no. 35, reproduced p. 175.