CRANACH, Lucas the Elder
(b. 1472, Kronach, d. 1553, Weimar)

The Penitent Magdalen in Ecstasy

1506
Woodcut, 244 x 142 mm
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

The pictorial representation of the subject by Cranach has a characteristic peculiar to Cranach: it is the saint's complete nakedness. In the late Middle Ages the saint was usually shown with long hair covering her whole body.