The "Reading Magdalen."

DRESDEN GALLERY. CORREGGIO, 1491-1534.

Magdalen in art is represented as a beautiful woman under penance for an evil life. She is usually represented as a draped figure, frequently lying on the ground, reading, in a cave or some other secluded place, with a skull near by.

In the Dresden Gallery there are two reclining Magdalens, which have long divided opinions as to their relative merits;--Batoni's Magdalen is a full length figure lying upon the ground, with her hands clasped and her hair falling about her shoulders, while Correggio's, though disappointingly small, is a picture of exquisite beauty, distinguished as the "Reading Magdalen." She lies upon the ground, her blue drapery relieving the sombre green of the landscape. Her feet are bare, her head is leaning upon one hand, while the other hand partly supports the book, upon which her drooping eyes are attentively fixed. An alabaster vase is on the turf beside her. This little gem of the Dresden Gallery is exquisitely painted, and has always had the most enthusiastic admirers. We are told that the princes of Este carried a copy of it about with them on all their journeys, and that the King of Poland kept this one under lock and key in a frame of jeweled silver. This gem was once stolen from the Dresden Gallery, and now it is securely fastened to the wall.

Mary Magdalene, or Mary Magdala (so named from the place of her birth, on the Sea of Galilee), was the woman out of whom Jesus cast seven devils, and who ever after believed in Him and followed Him. She was one of the women who stood beside the cross, one who went with sweet spices to the sepulchre, and it was to her that He first appeared after His resurrection. She appears to have been a person of property, for she "ministered to Him of her substance."

It is an old and unfounded notion that identifies her with the woman who was a sinner (Luke VII., 37-50), for there is no real evidence of the identity. The Magdalens, however, which are so frequent among works of art, represent her according to this prevalent error. The references to Mary Magdalene in Scripture are,--Matt. XXVII., 56 and 61; Mark XVI., 1 and 9; XV., 47; John XX., 1. The story of her life has been greatly augmented by baseless legends, but we read no more in Scripture of this Mary, though she is doubtless one of the women mentioned in Acts 1., 14. Four other noted Magdalens are-Guido's Magdalen, bust only, head raised, eyes upturned, in the Louvre; Titian's Magdalen, coarse and sensual, in the Pitti Palace, Florence; Murillo's Magdalen, bust partly covered with luxuriant hair, face upturned; remarkable for the soft tone of voluptuous beauty pervading the whole figure, in Berlin; Carlo Dolce's Magdalen, half-length figure, vase in hand, in Uffizi Gallery, Florence.