Magdalen in the Desert

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The handwriting on this sheet, possibly that of a print dealer, identifies it as a mezzotint by Johann Joseph Freidhoff after a painting by Correggio. However, the composition matches no known works by the Italian painter. Indeed, the dealer seems to have conflated this with another Magdalen by Freidhoff after Correggio that was catalogued without a reproduction in the 19th century. Although this print is stylistically close to Freidhoff’s signed works, it remains unclear whether the attribution is correct. The blank space at the bottom of the sheet suggests that the mezzotint is a proof printed before lettering and perhaps never published.

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