Chopped Artemisia Gentileschi Is The Opposite Of Chopped

this 17th century painting of a female figure seated in a flowing yellow skirt is missing the entire face and upper chest section, which has been unevenly cutout at some point. it is in a black and gilded carved wood frame, and is being offered for sale at dorotheum in vienna in april 2026
Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Magdalen, a fragment, c. 1615-18, 148 x 111 cm, selling 28 Apr 2026 at Dorotheum

This epically chopped painting of Mary Magdalen passed through at least one generation of heirs and two collections before ending up at auction at Dorotheum, in Vienna. It has been attributed to Artemisia since at least 2011. Its relationship to the nearly identical Mary Magdalen which has been in the Pitti Palace since 1914 has surely been recognized for longer.

artemisia gentileschi's painting of mary magdalen at the pitti palace in florence has the seated saint clutching her heaving bosom and looking upward toward the light which causes her gold flowing gown to glow against the dark background. one bare foot is sticking out of the bottom of her skirt.
Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Magdalen, c. 1620, 146.5 x 108 cm, Collection Pitti Palace

Through it all, this damaged painting survived, “rolled up in a cellar.” The circumstances “remain unclear,” Dorotheum says, but the painting was damaged in “an incident most probably linked to the chaos and looting of postwar Berlin.” Does that mean there’s a chance the head and bust of the Magdalen will turn up some day in some Allied veteran’s cellar? Does buying this incomplete painting include any claim on the head, should it turn up, or do the heirs of Alfred Berliner get to sell it twice?

an mockup of an 18th century full length portrait of a queen in a yellow dress amid draperies, with the half-height portrait part cut out because it was originally a smaller portrait that someone later tried to expand into a full length, for fashion and status purposes.
Sir Joshua Reynolds (attr.), Textiles in Space, c. late 18th century, oil on canvas, 226 x 131 cm, whereabouts unknown

I love this so much. This has rocketed to the top of both my Artemisia Gentileschi list and my painting of a woman in yellow with the center cut out list.

Lot 70, 28 Apr 2026, Artemisia Gentileschi, Mary Magdalen, a fragment, est. EUR120-150,000 [update: sold for EUR837,500!] [dorotheum, h/t kottke]