Elihu Vedder (1836-1923)
Magdalene Weeping
signed and dated 'Elihu Vedder 1901' (lower right)
oil on canvas
16 7/8 x 21 1/2 in. (42.9 x 54.6 cm.)
Painted in 1901.
Footnotes:
Provenance
Private collection, Rego Park, New York.
Sale, Bonhams, New York, November 19, 2019, lot 87, sold by the above.
Acquired by the present owner at the above sale.

The present work retains what is probably its original frame designed by the artist.

The composition of the present work painted by Elihu Vedder in 1901 closely resembles his chalk, pencil, and ink on paper work titled The Magdalene that he executed as part of a large set of drawings designed to accompany Edward Fitzgerald's translation of The Rubáyát of Omar Khayyám, published by Houghton Mifflin and Company in 1884. Vedder refined this early image of The Magdalene by translating it to oil on canvas and bringing greater attention to her sorrow. Like his drawing from 1883-84, He depicts her seated in a barren landscape with her head bowed in despair. Furthermore, she is shown with long flowing hair and garments that enclose her in a womb like form. He also includes the vessel of ointment at her feet in reference to the Anointing of Jesus as is customary with traditional depictions of Mary Magdalene.