The shadows add volume to the objects, and also show the depth of the space in which Mary sits. The dark shadows around Mary balance the intense illumination that the lamp provides. Georges de La Tour seems to have the same mastery over tenebrism that Caravaggio did. Time seems to both, stand still and flow as Mary sits still in pensive contemplation of the flame. One can almost see the flame flicker as it shoots out tendrils of smoke.
The main contents of the painting, Mary in profile, the skull on her lap, her bare legs, the scourge, the books, and the flame are organized in a circular composition, which is brightly illuminated by the light. The eye is drawn in a diagonal over the line of Mary's form, which recedes into the space, and then through her gaze, onto the intense flame, which for me forms the focal point of the image. La Tour used rich warm colors, reds, browns and yellow tones in the painting, with value decreasing from the flame outwards to the edge of the frame.
Georges de la tour shows his mastery over painting by showing us the different textures, from the soft skin of Mary, to her heavy skirt, her light blouse falling off her shoulder, the polished skull in her lap, the worn leather of the books, to the roughness of the whip that falls from the edge of the table. We can see the brush strokes in the folds of Mary's blouse, and they disappear in the smooth background wall. Although we see only half of Mary's face, we can see that she is contemplating, perhaps pondering the skull in her lap that serves us as a memento mori, along with the lit lamp. .
Mary is a symbol of hope and forgiveness, a recurring theme in the Gospels. The skull is the symbol of her sin and mortality. She holds death in her lap. The books show her spirituality, and the bloody scourge is indicative of the more physical repentance that is sometimes practiced. The subject of the painting is the repentance of the Magdalene.
