Une Marie-Madeleine extatique pour Washington
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has acquired Artemisia Gentileschi's painting "Marie-Madeleine en extase" (Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy), dating from around 1625. The work was previously sold at a Sotheby's auction in France in 2014, continuing a trend of important Gentileschi works leaving Europe for American museums.
The acquisition is significant as it adds a major work by the celebrated Baroque painter, one of the few prominent female artists of her era, to a leading U.S. collection. The article notes the hope that the arrival of director Christophe Leribault, known for his active and relevant acquisition policies, might alter the pattern of such key works departing France for institutions abroad.