In this artwork, how is the Attribution discussed?
The work is attributed to Geertgen tot Sint Jans mainly for its typically simplified geometric shapes, and similarity to his The Lamentation of Christ; a painting in which the faces and expressions of Mary and John bear striking similarity to the present work. The attribution was accepted by both Friedländer and Panofsky. Especially Panofsky was enthusiastic about the panel, but Friedländer did not hold it in high regard. He praised the description of the Virgin, especially her face and hands, and described the depiction of the Magdalene as "realistic...with such carefully observed shadows" and "among the masters best work". However he found the figure of Christ to be "traditional", and wrote that the "absence of spatial elaboration overall is felt to be all the more vexing". Overall the image, he believed, lacked depth of field and compositional balance.Panofsky, although he generally admired Friedländer's analysis, disagreed strongly, and in a 1927 treatise on Netherlandish depictions of the "Man of Sorrows" wrote, "As, however, all the seemingly haphazard composition lines lead with compelling force to the face of the Savior, which, lifted out of the image, focuses its large, tearful eye on us, the sum of all the sorrows which he suffers, and all of the mourning that is suffered for him, now appears to besiege us."
Magdalene Man of Sorrows Geertgen tot Sint Jans lance