The penitent Magdalene 

Pieter Bruegel the Elder created this engraving, titled "The Penitent Magdalene," sometime in the mid-16th century. The print shows Mary Magdalene in the lower right corner, sitting outside the entrance to a cave. She is almost camouflaged by the lines and shapes of the landscape. The viewer’s eye is drawn instead to the panoramic view of the alpine landscape. Bruegel’s landscape prints such as this one helped to shape a new Netherlandish visual culture in the 16th century. The steep mountains and picturesque villages create an immersive world. This imagery would have conjured the actual experience of travel and trade for the Netherlandish audience, the institutions that shaped Bruegel’s world. The composition encourages viewers to meditate on their own relationship with the natural world. To understand Bruegel's work better, researchers have looked to period travel accounts, maps, and scientific treatises on the natural world. These resources help us to understand the cultural meanings of landscape in the 16th century.