MAKING A MARK: Noli me Tangere revisited

On Easter Sunday in 2017, I published a post about Noli me tangere – suggested to be the first words words said by Christ on meeting Mary Magdelene in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The Latin words ‘Noli Me Tangere’ mean ‘Do not touch me’, and refer to the episode of Mary Magdalene’s first encounter with Christ after his Resurrection. National Gallery

There have been very many drawings, paintings, fine art prints of the biblical scene of Mary Magdelene recognising Jesus Christ after his resurrection. It’s an iconic and artistic motif which has continued for centuries. 

On this Easter Morning I’ve reprised the post:

• Today I’ve found the images (mainly in Wikimedia Commons) and put them in an album on my Facebook Page – with the details of each image from the original blog post.
• plus I’ve found a new image – by two past masters of Netherlandish art

Artworks have been produced by very many notable artists. My blog post documented various of the artworks in chronological order. They include: Giotto, Duccio, Fra Angelico, Memling, Botticelli, Dürer, Titian, Holbein, Poussin, Lorrain

This is an additional – and unusual – image. It was painted by BOTH Jan Brueghel the Younger, Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens did the figures and Brueghel did the landscape and plants. One interesting aspect is that Christ is portrayed as a gardener and while flowers are still in bloom the vegetables are ready to be harvested— which I gather is an allusion to Paradise.

Christ Appears to Mary Magdalene on Easter Morning (Noli me tangere) c. 1626 Jan Brueghel the Younger, Peter Paul Rubens 59.0 x 100.0cm, oil on wood Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen