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Photo 1/25 du lota wooden window with metal bars on the outside of itan oil painting of a woman holding her hands in front of her chesta painting of a woman holding her hands in front of a windowa painting of a woman sitting in front of a mirroran image of a painting of a woman holding a babya painting of a man and a woman kissing each othera painting of a woman with long hair holding a cell phonea close up of a painting of a woman with red haira picture of a painting of a vase on a tablea picture of a painting of a woman holding a catan oil painting of a woman looking out of a window with a bird in her handa painting of a woman holding her hands to her chesta picture of a young child in a picture framepainting of a woman with long red hair and a blue dressan oil painting of a woman with long red hair holding her hands in front of her chesta painting of a woman holding her hands in front of a candlepainting of a woman ' s face in a purple frame with a purple lighta painting of a woman with long hair in a dark rooman old photo of a woman in a green dress in front of a purple lighta poster for a movie with a woman holding a baby in her armspainting of a woman ' s face in a dark room with stained glass windowspainting of a woman holding a child in her armspainting of a woman ' s face and hands in a dark rooma painting of a woman holding her hands in front of a purple light
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38 - Giovan Pietro Rizzoli, known as GIAMPIETRINO (active in Mila…
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Estimate €30,000 - €50,000
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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)
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About the sale TREASURES OF THE LOIRE VALLEY
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Auction time 11/22/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures modified on 10/20/2026 at 9:33 PM
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