a visit with jesus

 Bible Art

Noli me Tangere
Artist: Hans Holbein the younger
 1526    Painting

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"Touch me not!"

Noli me tangere
Artist: Giotto
 1304-06    Painting

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In this interpretation of Christ’s resurrection, Giotto conflates two separate events—Christ’s resurrection and his subsequent meeting with Mary Magdalene. To the left of the picture an angel sits on a tomb and assumes the role of witness to the resurrection. On the right, Christ and Mary Magdalene can be seen enacting the scene known as noli me tangere. The phrase, from Latin meaning “touch me not,” refers to the first miraculous appearance of Christ, before Mary Magdalene, after his apparent death. Mary, having found the tomb empty, mistakes Jesus for a gardener and implores him to reveal the location of Christ’s dead body. Christ, in the instant he reveals himself to Mary, proclaims, “Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my father.”