H. 31 cm. W. 26 cm. D. 4 cm.
Christ appears to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection to comfort her. At first she thinks he is a gardener, but when she recognizes him he tells her not to touch him - 'noli me tangere' - as recorded in the Gospels of John (20: 14-18). The original phrase was written in Greek and recent hagiographic research has shown that it is better represented in translation as "cease holding on to me" or "stop clinging to me". The biblical scene of Mary Magdalene's recognizing Jesus Christ after his resurrection became the subject of a long, widespread and continuous iconographic tradition in Christian art from late antiquity to the present.
Notable in this piece are the refined details in the robes of Mary Magdalene, demonstrating a clear influence of the sculptural styles of Antwerp, the spade Christ is holding up and the typical ‘Basket Weave Fence’ in the background.
Provenance
Private collection, Brussels, Belgium
