1615 -1650 · Conversion, melancholy and ecstasy

Ecstasy, penance, landscape and melancholy show Artemisia transforming Madeleine into an active subject of an inner decision rather than a simple repentant beauty.

The Madeleine of Artemisia Gentileschi belongs to a Catholic iconography of penance, but each version modulates body and consciousness differently. In ecstasy, the upside-down head and the light indicate an experience that goes beyond the visible world. The penitent abandons jewelry, fabrics or mirrors and confronts her past life. In the landscape, solitude expands to a space of withdrawal. Melancholy, finally, retains the moment before or after conversion, when thought and fatigue weigh on the body. Artemisia gives Madeleine a monumental presence and often avoids demonstrative tears. Artemisia gives Madeleine a monumental presence and often avoids demonstrative tears. Artemisia gives Madeleine a monumental presence and often avoids demonstrative tears. Artemisia gives Madeleine a monumental presence and often avoids demonstrative tears. Artemisia gives Madeleine a monumental presence and often avoids demonstrative tears. The luxury of the garment does not contradict the subject: it makes sensitive what must be left or reoriented. The selection "Mary Magdalene by Artemisia Gentileschi" notably compares Mary Magdalene in ecstasy and Mary Magdalene penitent. His reading favors movement.

In Artemisia, Madeleine is not content to be looked at: her body expresses the difficult work of a consciousness which chooses, renounces and transforms.