Georges de La Tour and Magdalene of Night Light

'Magdalene of Night Light' (between 1640 and 1645) by Georges
de La Tour; Musée du Louvre, Paris

I visited Museo del Prado in Madrid in May 2009 (click here) and saw this painting of Georges de La Tour (born on March 13, 1593, and died on January 30, 1652), on loan from Musée du Louvre. The light in this painting is absolutely beautiful. It's clear that this is an example of Chiaroscuro and that La Tour was influenced by Caravaggio and the Dutch Caravaggisti. He became well-known for the use of candlelight in his paintings. Apparently La Tour painted four different representations of the repentant Magdalene. This is the one that I saw in Madrid. It looks very much like Magdalene with the Smoking Flame, the first one in the series. You can tell the two paintings apart by looking at the flame: in this painting it's not smoky but clear. I think I like the one with the smoking flame better. I understand there is symbolic meaning to this painting and that the skull represents death, but I find this particular object a bit disturbing since the rest of the painting and the delicate Magdalene seem so peaceful.