Magdalena Penitent (Mary Magdalene in Penitence)

"The importance of Magdalena penitent (Mary Magdalene in Penitence) and its neighbour Les llàgrimes de Sant Pere (The Tears of Saint Peter) was summarised by Miquel Utrillo when he said that the two El Grecos were “one of the most commented-on moral and material attractions of Cau Ferrat”. Even today, many of the visitors who cross the museum’s threshold do so primarily to see the two works by the Greek painter whom Santiago Rusiñol turned into the embodiment of the ideal of the modern artist. Mary Magdalene in Penitence was the first model of a serie of the painter, and the X-ray studies have shown changes in the composition and in the color of the mantle, which was changed from light blue to red. The history of the El Grecos at Cau Ferrat is divided into two clear parts: the first took place in Paris and refers to their purchase, while the second takes place in Sitges and refers to the fascinating civic procession celebrated to move the paintings to the wall where they currently hang. Rusiñol viewed the figure of El Greco as the personification of the modern, free artist. Rusiñol and his colleagues saw his works, where colour prevails over drawing, as a clear forerunner to modern painting. When he reached Cau Ferrat, he hung the paintings in the Main Hall, and the mayor of Sitges gave Rusiñol a parchment expressing the town’s appreciation for the creation of Cau Ferrat and the celebration of the Modernist Festivals. This parchment is currently displayed in the Museum’s Alcove. (Museu del Cau Ferrat, Sitges, 32004)"