Only a sketch of this picture survives. It is imbedded in the Fitzwilliam Museum's
composite manuscript of
“The House of Life”. There it appears on the verso of the
sonnet “Lost Days”. The drawing bears some resemblance to both the picture of
Madonna Pietra that DGR worked at in 1874 as well as the late oil (1880) of Mnemosyne, but its closest relation
seems to another drawing in the Fitzwilliam composite manuscript,
Woman Standing Behind a Table. The commentary for the latter should be consulted. Charles Fairfax Murray has a note on the manuscript indicating his view that the picture is a study for
Mary Magdalene.
This collection contains 3 texts and images, including:
Fitzwilliam Museum sketch
Scholarly Commentary
Introduction
Only a sketch of this picture survives. It is imbedded in the Fitzwilliam Museum's composite manuscript of “The House of Life”. There it appears on the verso of the sonnet “Lost Days”. The drawing bears some resemblance to both the picture of Madonna Pietra that DGR worked at in 1874 as well as the late oil (1880) of Mnemosyne, but its closest relation seems to another drawing in the Fitzwilliam composite manuscript, Woman Standing Behind a Table. The commentary for the latter should be consulted. Charles Fairfax Murray has a note on the manuscript indicating his view that the picture is a study for Mary Magdalene.