"Maddalena Penitente" by Georges De La Tour

Here De La Tour portrays Mary Magdalene in a darkened room. 

The woman is seated near a low piece of furniture on which a mirror is placed, 

her face is visible only for a quarter; she has her long hair loose and her hands serenely

 intertwined over a skull resting on her legs, in an attitude of quiet familiarity. 

Her gaze is turned towards the mirror, which reflects on her the light of the candle that is 

being consumed (symbol of life and its brevity) and which doubles the intense and 

intense flame (the flame and its reflection, the true light and the false one, the truth and the illusion).

The position of the Magdalene, collected and reserved - which seems closed in itself and almost 

refuses the encounter with the observer - gives the scene a meaning of serene inner peace and 

ntimate meditation.

The attention of the beholder is captured by the skull and the flame that is consumed, 

both symbols of passing time. But the candle is also a symbol of the light of faith, 

which burns and consumes the soul of those who abandon themselves to it.

 Here the mirror does not reflect a face, but a light.

Genuine hand carved shell cameo

Shell: Cassis Madagascariensis

Cameo Size: 55 mm

Our creations are furnished with certificate of authenticity