Studies of the Mourning Magdalen and the Virgin c. 1635 - 1636

Editor: This is Rembrandt van Rijn’s "Studies of the Mourning Magdalen and the Virgin," created around 1635-1636. It’s currently held at the Rijksmuseum. The artwork really has a feeling of spontaneity due to being a pencil sketch on toned paper, like a page from a sketchbook. What can you tell me about it from your perspective? Curator: Certainly. As a formalist, my interest lies in the structure and the very tangible essence of this sketch. Observe the confident lines, their varying weights creating depth and shadow, the composition guides our eye across the page, compelling us to compare and contrast each figure. The immediacy of the pencil allows for unmediated expression. The weave of the paper interacts with the pencil. It’s this interaction that reveals a kind of energetic vibration present throughout the composition. Editor: It's fascinating to hear you focus on the interaction between the materials themselves! The composition really uses repetition to draw us across the figures. Is it a series of studies of the same model? Curator: Quite possibly. Notice how the tonal variation helps distinguish the figures on the page, establishing an immediate visual hierarchy. Consider what message he aims to communicate to a viewer through the variation in tone alone, then perhaps how our subjective reading completes a circuit with what the artist is doing formally. Editor: That gives me a totally different viewpoint on looking at sketches in general. Thanks. Curator: It is in these close observations of artistic strategy that we discern meaning.