The Penitent Magdalen (Painting)
From Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia
Adrian Thomas Key (Flemish, c. 1544-1590)
c. 1560-1590
oil on panel
34 ¾ x 25 5/8 inches
Description: A three-quarter length depiction of Mary Magdalen [1] in which she is shown nude with her arms crossed over her breasts. Her body turns to the right while her face turns left; her eyes are raised upward. A twisted scarf covers the top of the head, and a red drapery is held in her left arm. Her long wavy red hair falls over both shoulders. An ointment jar and lid rest on a small table at the bottom right. It is in the lid that one can find the monogram “A.T.K.,” attributed as the initials of Flemish artist Adrian Thomas Key.
History: Although Thomas Jefferson owned a painting of “A Magdalen penitent” and hung it on the upper tier of his Parlor, this particular one is not the same work he describes in his Catalogue of Art as: “…sitting, her hair disheveled, her eyes looking up to heaven, a book in her right hand, and the left resting on a skull. A ¾ length of full size on canvas, copied from Joseph de Ribera, called Espagnolet, purchased from St. Severin’s collection. Catal. No. 59.”
Frequently inquired about by visitors to Monticello, it is important to note that this particular painting is not the same one owned by Thomas Jefferson. It was misidentified as such in 1936 when the monogram in the bottom right corner was thought to have been that of Ribera, and the dissimilarity between the painting and Jefferson’s description was explained by “[Jefferson’s] having written the list from memory on one of his journeys, on which…he often occupied his time by writing.” The Magdalen painting currently on display in Monticello’s parlor was given to Monticello by Mary K. Chapman, a great-niece of James Madison, and family tradition held that the artwork was initially given by Jefferson to his old friend.
Research in 1971 by Bettina Jessel revealed that the problematic painting was most likely made by Adrian Thomas Key the younger, a Flemish painter who was born and worked in Antwerp, who signed his name in capitals or in the monogram seen at the bottom of this painting. As to the whereabouts of the Monticello Magdalen, the painting was sold in Boston in 1828, and its location is unknown. The work currently on display was probably purchased for James and Dolley Madison by Payne Todd when he was with the peace commissioners at Ghent, 1814-1815. It hung at Montpelier.
Footnotes
- ↑ This article is based on Elizabeth L. O'Leary, Monticello Research Report, July 1988.
