Domenico Fetti (Rome c. 1588-Venice 1623)
Saint Mary of Egypt c.1613-22
Oil on canvas | 101.2 x 76.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 405514
Queen's Private Chamber, Hampton Court Palace
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This is one of a number of pictures of saints by Fetti in similar format, possibly from more than one series. Saint Mary of Egypt is shown in half-length in profile to the left. Her hands are held in prayer before a crude wooden cross and she is dressed in rags. Her left shoulder bare and her grey hair is loose and long. Saint Mary of Egypt was a penitent hermit saint who can be distinguished in pictures by the presence of the three loaves of bread which served as her food in the desert; in this painting the loaves of bread are clearly visible around the base of the cross.
Provenance
Presumably acquired by Charles I; sold to Jackson and others as a set of seven for £42 from Hampton Court on 23 October 1651 (no 131); recovered at the Restoration and listed in the Long Matted Gallery at Whitehall in 1666 (no 30)
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
101.2 x 76.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
113.2 x 88.6 x 4.3 cm (frame, external)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
Saint Mary Magdalen, previously entitled
