ter Brugghen's Melancholy

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This early 17th century Dutch painting by Henrick ter Brugghen, found in the Art Gallery of Ontario, is titled “Melancholy”―what used to be the term for what we now call “depression.” 

According to a contemporary source, ter Brugghen himself suffered severely from depression. This painting seems to give his view of the matter.

The young woman contemplating the skull is Mary Magdalene. Tradition suggests she had been a prostitute; more definitely, that she was wealthy. Here, she is reflecting on the vanity of life. What, in the face of death, is the point of it all?

But surely the message is hopeful. Mary Magdalene discovered the point of it all. She met Jesus; he cast seven devils out of her. She became a devout disciple, and was the first to witness the empty tomb and the resurrection.

This suggests that, rather than being an illness, depression is the first step on a path to insight. The depressed recognizes the folly and wrongness of this world; she is now prepared to embrace the next.