From an article about the painting, it seems that the alabaster jar and faint halo over her head are references to Mary Magdelene? If the 19th century repaint was to make it a pretty picture for sellability then I could see why they wouldn’t want such a heavy subject matter.
![Isabella de’ Medici [1574 & ~1700s] (Before and After Removal of Victorian Era beautification)](https://quokk.au/pictrs/image/9dd7f586-9557-4914-8d5a-4092ef55e338.jpeg){kind=link}
Motive for changing faces is understandable, but why put effort into removing that vase thing she’s holding?
From an article about the painting, it seems that the alabaster jar and faint halo over her head are references to Mary Magdelene? If the 19th century repaint was to make it a pretty picture for sellability then I could see why they wouldn’t want such a heavy subject matter.
Looks like they made her hand thinner, so maybe they found it more appealing to remove it altogether rather than try to make it work together?
Knowing the Victorian era they might have thought it was too phallic