How words from the Bible served as a subject for many paintings of the Renaissance: "Do not touch Me"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

When choosing a theme for a new work, Renaissance artists often turned to this subject. It was not one of the most widespread, like, for example, the Annunciation, and did not open up opportunities for such a popular image of the naked body in that era as the Old Testament story about Susanna and the elders, and yet paintings called "Do not touch me" were written by many outstanding painters. The emotional richness of the scene, the complex poses of the characters, their facial expressions - all this represented a certain challenge that Durer, Titian, Correggio and many others took on.

Noli me tangere - "Don't touch Me!"

This gospel story tells about the meeting of Mary Magdalene and Christ after his Resurrection. The myrrh-bearing wives came to the cave, in which the tomb with the body of Christ was located, among them was Magdalene. The coffin was empty and the women left. Magdalene returned, she cried at the burial place of her teacher, when she saw two angels, and soon - Christ himself, whom at first she did not recognize and took for a gardener.

When she found out, she called "Rabboni!", That is, "Teacher!" but go to my brothers and tell them: I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God”(Gospel of John 20: 11-17).

Artists began to resort to this plot since late antiquity. Medieval icons also depict the meeting of Christ and Magdalene.

But the plot became really popular among painters during the Renaissance. As a rule, there was no variety in the names of the paintings - the works where this meeting of Christ and Magdalene was shown were called Noli Me Tangere, "Don't touch me" in Latin. By the way, the Greek version of this phrase is closer to another meaning - “stop holding on to me”, “let go” - and the artists also took these semantic nuances into account.

Interpretations of the plot on canvases

The master - be it an icon painter, a painter or the creator of an engraving - was faced with the task of not only showing the kneeling Magdalene before the Savior, it was also required to convey the symbolism of this scene, its meaning, including the hidden one. Why does Christ push away from himself his disciple, who accompanied him on his wanderings? What should be his gesture, what will be reflected on the face of Magdalene - bewilderment, humility, understanding?

It is believed that in this way Christ made it clear that now everything cannot be as it was before, the connection between him and people will now not be physical, but the only thing that can bring him closer to him is faith. Lazarus, resurrected by Christ, returned to his former life, but the Son of God is on a different path. That is why Magdalene did not recognize her teacher at first - he became different, and this is what the masters undertook to express on canvas.

Christ, who was mistaken for a gardener, was depicted with a hoe or a shovel, sometimes wearing a hat. He is dressed, as a rule, in blue clothes - this color in the Renaissance times was considered divine, mystical, and besides, it was especially highly valued, since the stone from which ultramarine paint was obtained was very expensive. Magdalene, as a rule, is depicted in a red robe, this is a tragic color, reminiscent of blood, drama.

Mary Magdalene

Of course, this gospel story also attracts the image of Mary Magdalene. It is perceived differently by the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The particular popularity of the Magdalene in Western culture, apparently, is due to the fact that she is identified with the penitent harlot. In the paintings of European artists, she is traditionally depicted with her head uncovered and her hair loose. In the hands of Magdalene is a vessel of incense, with which she came to the tomb of Christ together with other myrrh-bearing women.

The Catholics also identify Magdalene with Lazarus' sister Mary, who in the Orthodox tradition is considered another character in the New Testament. And the image of the biblical harlot has nothing to do with the Magdalene in Orthodoxy. In the Bible, this saint is mentioned in six episodes, the first of which is the healing from possession by seven demons, after which the woman began to follow Christ. Sometimes in the paintings of Noli me tangere New Jerusalem is depicted in the background, according to the revelations of John the Theologian - the Heavenly City, the place of dwelling holy saints, one of the images of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The real titans of the Renaissance, including Giotto, Durer, Correggio, Titian, were taken for the works dedicated to this New Testament plot, later the meeting of Christ and the Magdalene was depicted on canvas by masters of other eras, including Russian ones.

A legend is associated with Mary Magdalene about the origin of the tradition of painting eggs for Easter. Allegedly, after the Resurrection, she came to announce what had happened to the Emperor Tiberius, and he, apparently busy with breakfast at that moment, said: "It's just as impossible as if this chicken egg suddenly turned red." And then the egg turned red. It is believed that this legend arose already during the late Middle Ages.

And this is not the only Easter tradition. It's fair to say that Easter traditions around the world are very different, and sometimes quite strange.