Mary Magdalene appears at the center, her bare shoulders draped loosely in a striped cloth, with her long hair falling in waves over her chest and arms. She gazes upward, her eyes wide and filled with tears that stream down her cheeks, her right hand pressed to her chest in a gesture of sorrow and penitence. A small glass jar stands at the bottom left, catching the light and suggesting the ointment traditionally associated with Mary Magdalene.

Behind her, a rocky outcrop rises in shadow, contrasting with the luminous landscape that recedes into the distance on the right, where green hills and a distant mountain are visible under a sky filled with clouds. The light falls most strongly on her face, shoulders, and hands, highlighting the pallor of her skin and the emotional intensity of her expression, while the background and her drapery remain in deeper tones. The brushwork is visible in the textured folds of the cloth and the soft modeling of her flesh, with subtle transitions of color and shadow giving a sense of depth and volume.

The composition draws attention to her spiritual anguish, with the diagonal lines of her arms and the upward tilt of her head leading toward the heavens. The Rijksmuseum describes this painting as a copy after the original Penitent Mary Magdalene by Titian, now in the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg, and notes that it was restored in 1805. The museum's record dates the work to between 1550 and 1750, with the probable date after 1565, and attributes it to the Venetian school.