Lieve du Morvain - Pair of antique paintings on ivory with gilt bronze frames

Pair of religious-themed paintings depicting the "Penitent Magdalene" and "Madonna with Child" by Lieve du Morvain, both signed and dated lower left, oil on ivory. The Magdalene is dated 1847 and is portrayed in her repentance in obsequious devotion, with hands clasped on her chest and a languid and fervent gaze, with very long red, wavy and silky hair. Around her, the painter chooses to portray nothingness, the dark nude of a room isolates her and envelops her in mystical agony, focusing the viewer's gaze only on the physicality of the Saint.