 The background of the painting had been overpainted with a thick layer of brown paint . A cleaning between 1955 and 1956 revealed the figure standing behind the Magdalene and the kneeling figure with its bare foot protruding in front of her , with a landscape visible through a window . The two partially seen figures are both cut off at the edges of the London panel . The figure above her has been identified as belonging to a fragment in the <unk> <unk> Gulbenkian , Lisbon , which shows the head of Saint Joseph , while another Lisbon fragment , showing what is believed to be Saint Catherine of Alexandria , is thought to be from the same larger work . The original altarpiece was a <unk> <unk> , known only through a drawing , Virgin and Child with Saints , in Stockholm 's <unk> , which followed a partial copy of the painting that probably dated from the late 16th century . The drawing shows that The Magdalen occupied the lower right @-@ hand corner of the altarpiece . The Lisbon fragments are each a third of the size of The Magdalen , which measures 62 @.@ 2 cm × 54 @.@ 4 cm ( 24 @.@ 5 in × 21 @.@ 4 in ) . 
