Featured lot selected by the auctions House.
Premium VALOIR POUSSE-CORNET Maison de ventes
38
-
Giovan Pietro Rizzoli, known as GIAMPIETRINO (active in Mila…
See original version (French)
38
-
Giovan Pietro Rizzoli, known as GIAMPIETRINO (active in Mila…
See original version (French)
Estimate €30,000 - €50,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Giovan Pietro Rizzoli, known as GIAMPIETRINO (active in Milan between 1500 and 1549) and workshop
Mary Magdalene in Prayer
Parquet-style fruitwood panel
Height: 61 cm
Width: 46 cm
Historical restorations
Provenance:
- Auction in Paris, Hôtel Georges V, Tajan auction house, 12 June 1995, lot 123 (hammer price: 180,000 francs).
Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli is mentioned by Leonardo da Vinci in his Milanese workshop simply by his first name, ‘Gian Pietro’ (Codex Atlanticus). He was there between 1497 and 1500 and was tasked with copying *The Last Supper* (a copy of which is held in London at the Royal Academy of Arts). He made his mark as a painter of large-scale works, altarpieces (Pavia, 1521), and, above all, numerous small devotional works for private clients. He disseminated Leonardo’s influence, tempered by that of Solario, Luini and Cesare da Sesto, yet always retaining his own highly recognisable personal style.
As the inventor of a new iconographic genre halfway between the sacred and the profane, Giampietrino specialised in depicting the repentant Mary Magdalene in a subtly erotic manner, which proved immensely popular with his contemporaries. He painted her as a half-length figure in various poses and compositions, each of which was produced in several versions. He also sometimes varied the orientation of the work or the background.
As for the manner in which the saint is depicted, as in our painting—with her hands clasped in prayer, turned towards the left and her eyes raised to heaven—we may cite the versions held at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg (panel, 49 x 39 cm), the Civic Museums of Pavia (inv. P 121 b), at the Gemäldegalerie – Staatliche Museen – in Berlin, as well as in private collections. There is a variant of the same subject in which the figure has her arms crossed over her chest (Brera Art Gallery in Milan and Burgos Cathedral).
The influence of Leonardo is evident here, both in the modelling, the slight sway of Mary Magdalene’s hips and the layered composition of the rocky background, as in the master’s *Virgin of the Rocks* or *Saint Anne*. This is an allusion to the grotto of Sainte-Baume in Provence, where, according to the Golden Legend, the saint is said to have spent the last years of her life as a hermit. The alabaster jar of ointment or perfume on the left is the one with which she anointed Christ’s feet during the supper at Simon the Pharisee’s house. Her hair, plaited at navel height as if forming a belt, is arranged to lend a sensual appearance to her breasts and arms.
We would like to thank Professor Cristina Geddo for her assistance in describing this lot, based on a digital photograph, on 17 July 2026.
Expert: Stéphane Pinta, Turquin firm (viewing by appointment at the expert’s office)
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like