The scripture according to St. John tells the story of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalen in the disguise of a gardener on the morning after his resurrection. She does not recognize him at first but, when she does, she wants to touch him and at this point “Jesus saith to her: Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father.” Touch me not in Latin is “Noli me Tangere”. This theme has tempted many artists down to the 19th century: Jesus sometimes appearing as gardener with shovel and hat, sometimes wearing only a loincloth. There are so many versions it has been difficult to make a selection.
My absolute favourite is by Martin Schongauer from 1485 when he sets the two figures inside a garden. Mary Magdalen, under a nimbus in gold, is kneeling and stretches out her hand in a gesture of longing. Jesus, in red, seems to be on his way, looking back to her over his shoulder – to tell her not to touch him – as he has not yet ascended to heaven to join his God and hers. We see the stigmata: the wound under his chest, the injuries from nails on his feet. Puzzled at first about the banner Jesus is carrying, I soon found the answer: the red cross, symbolizing his suffering on the Cross, against a white background was a symbol for his resurrection. Such a banner shows up in other images from this period but then disappears. When we see the symbol of the International Red Cross few of us realize that at one point it stood for Jesus rising from the dead. The background in gold and Mary Magdalen’s halo give the image an aura of sacredness and religious devotion not unlike an icon. It will be interesting to compare how artists in later times portrayed the relationship between the two.
While Schongauer was a German artist from the Rhine, Jacob Cornelisz van Ostsamen (1475-1533) came from the Northern Netherlands. In his painting from 1509, Mary Magdalen is garbed in the fashion of Ostsaanen’s time, wearing an elaborate bonnet made of expensive brocade. Jesus, in a blue embroidered robe touches Mary Magdalen’s head while looking at her with affection. He clearly is aware that his appearance is an enormous shock for her. Yes, she is in shock: she had supposed that Christ was dead, tears roll down her cheek. Clasping her hands in prayer she is overwhelmed by the fact that she need not mourn any longer since, miraculously, he has risen from the dead. How can we not be moved by the gentleness with which he slightly touches her as if to comfort her.
How very different is the interpretation by Titian (148?-1576), the most important artist of the Venetian school during the Renaissance. Jesus, scarcely clad, is preventing Mary Magdalen from touching him. In this image, a beautiful landscape seems more important than the two figures and their relationship. The scene takes place in the morning, the sun is rising above the sea on the horizon. The muted colours and the subtle modulation of tone – with the light defining the body rather than the outline – is typical of Venetian paintings of this period. While in Florence the disegno, (drawing) was emphasized, as in Botticelli, in Venice colorito (colour) was used to portray the figure – a linear versus a painterly approach.
In 1581 an Italian woman has tackled the theme: Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614) working in Bologna and Rome. Women artists: I am always happy to discover another one. Fontana is regarded one of the first female career artists in Western Europe relying, as she did, on commissions for her income. Her family depended on her career as a painter, and her husband served as her agent, (while, incidentally, raising their eleven children). Cast in the dramatic late evening light, our attention in Noli me Tangere is immediately drawn to its two figures. Jesus, as a gardener, in straw hat and spade, is raising his hand towards Mary Magdalen in a gesture of blessing, rather than deterring her from touching him. Mary Magdalen is holding a balming ointment in her left hand while in her right, her fingers are spread in fright, indicating her shock and surprise.
Agnolo Bronzino (1503-1572), Florentine, is best known for his portraits. I adore them though his religious paintings actually happen to leave me cold. An example: I find his rendering of Noli me Tangere downright off-putting. Why is Jesus, skimpily clad, twisting in this unnatural position, more like a ballet dancer than the Messiah just risen from the dead? Notice the legs, disproportionate in length to the rest of the muscular body. A very young Mary Magdalen is clad in bright cobalt blue, arms spread out theatrically, her face turned towards him with an expression of rapture. She spreads her fingers to indicate shock but the two do seem to be more engaged in a dance than a deeply meaningful encounter. Mannerism – as an artform chronologically following the High Renaissance – was characterised by artificiality, elegance and sensuous distortion of the body. All these elements we find in this painting, especially the faintly ridiculous distortion of Christ’s body.
Any art lover familiar with Caravaggio’s work will recognize that Battistolo Caracciolo (1578-1635) was one of his followers. As in all of the images above, the artist chooses the moment when Jesus tries to deter Mary Magdalen from touching him. We can see this from his concerned expression and a forceful movement of his arms. No blessing, no gentle touching: instead, a dramatic gesture. The sharp contrast between the light and dark – chiaroscuro in Italian – adds to the sense of drama. A youthful Mary Magdalen stretches out her arm: is he real? She shows no shock or surprise, but rather a calm joy.
We see a similar effect of chiaroscuro in Rembrandt’s scene. Against a dark background of earliest dawn, Christ appears as if lit from within, a figure of light with a halo, not belonging anymore to the worldly realm. He gently raises his right arm as if to admonish Mary Magdalen not to come near him. His clothing reinforces the sense that this scene takes place in biblical times. Mary Magdalen wears a dark cloak, only her white shirt is illuminated by a mysterious source of light. Of all the images so far, Rembrandt (1606-1669) has been most successful in portraying Jesus as a disembodied figure from another dimension, not as a human but a divine being.
Jumping ahead to the 19th century, we discover Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869), a German painter who left his native town Lübeck to go to Rome. There he became the founder of a group of artists who called themselves the Nazarenes. They lived in a Franciscan cloister and carried out commissions together. Overbeck, very devout Protestant, converted eventually to the Roman Catholicism and wanted to bring spirituality back into art. As we can see in his painting entitled “Easter Morning” he was strongly influenced by the Renaissance artist, Raphael. After all the drama in the preceding images, this calm encounter does not stir our emotions. Jesus, carrying the banner with the red cross, is frozen in motion like a statue; his face shows no expression, and Mary Magdalen only manifests some surprise through the gesture of her arms. Overbeck remained in Rome until his death in 1869. His group can be compared to the Pre-Raphaelites in England.
There is no lack in drama in my last example which is by the Russian painter Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (1806-1858). As if on a stage, the two figures act out their meeting against a dark background. Jesus, clad in a Greek toga-like garment, seems somewhat stern and rejecting, while Mary Magdalen with fingers spread shows surprise and shock. Ivanov spent most of his life in Rome, and was influenced by Overbeck’s Nazarenes.