"Landscape with Mary Magdalene: Inspiration and Symbolism"

(1582 Antwerp - 1662 ibid) Pair of Landscapes with the Penitent Mary Magdalene and Tobias and the Angel Counterpiece. Below a wooded rocky outcrop sits Mary Magdalene with open, long hair and a halo of rays, dressed in a purple robe, semi-transparent white blouse, and a golden yellow cloak, her hands resting on a skull. She gazes up at the sky, where four small angels frolic in the clouds, directly above her hovers a larger angel with a martyr's palm and a wreath of roses. To her right, Mary Magdalene has placed a crucifix, with the Bible laid before it; another symbol of her penitence is the fabric roll standing at the left edge of the painting, made of coarse woven animal hair, from which she will wear her hair shirt in the future. Her faith also protects Mary Magdalene from imminent dangers such as the rat-like creature approaching her from the right. On the right side of the painting, the gaze falls on a deep, idyllic river valley, where rabbits and deer graze. While these animals and even the squirrel next to the crucifix belong to the European fauna, the painter in the foreground has placed two exotic, luxuriously painted guinea pigs with beans as feed. The other painting depicts Tobias with the fish and his dog as his traveling companions, accompanied by the protecting and guiding archangel Raphael. It shows them on their way to Ecbatana or on the way home, in the moment when they emerge from a dense oak forest and the dog jumps ahead. On the right side of the painting, the landscape opens up, and two other wanderers are heading towards a farm, in front of which a shepherd lets his flock graze. Adriaen van Stalbemt belongs, alongside Jan Brueghel the Elder, to the best and most significant painters in the tradition of Jan Brueghel the Elder, who particularly influenced him in his landscapes. In 1610, he was admitted as a master to the Lukas Guild in his hometown of Antwerp, of which he was also chairman in 1618/19. As a renowned and successful painter, he created an extensive oeuvre, which is still documented today with about 330 paintings. Works by the artist can be found, among others, in museums in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Cologne, Leipzig, and Schwerin. Oil on copper. 50 cm x 65 cm. Frame. According to the oral information of the deceased expert Klaus Ertz at the beginning of August 2023, who saw the original paintings, they are works by Adriaen van Stalbemt. Literature: Klaus Ertz and Christa Nitz-Ertz: "Adriaen van Stalbemt (1580-1662): Critical Catalogue of Paintings, Drawings, and Prints", Lingen 2018.