The Penitent Magdalen - a woman reading by lamplightoil on canvas64.5 x 54cmAfter a much smaller work on panel (26 x 21cm) by Schalcken which has been in the Staatliches Museum Schwerin, Germany since the 18th century.Framed 88.5 x 78.5cmThe painting is executed in oil on a canvas support which has been lined. There are minor undulations around the edges of the canvas but generally the picture is in plane. The paint layer in the sitter’s flesh tones has developed a fine network of cracks which are sharply raised in areas. There are areas of overpaint which mainly appear to be located in the background, reinforcing the outline of the sitter. The varnish is very glossy but brittle with a network of cracks.