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Rembrandt's 1638 Noli Me Tangere As a Dutch Calvinist Visual

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Rembrandt's 1638 Noli Me Tangere As a Dutch Calvinist Visual CHAPTER NINE WOMAN, WHY WEEPEST THOU? Rembrandt’s 1638 NOLI ME TANGERE AS A DUTCH CALVINIST VISUAL TYPOLOGY Bobbi Dykema In 16381 Rembrandt created a small panel painting titled The Risen Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene now housed in the Royal Collection at Buck- ingham Palace (fig. 9.1).2 The panel depicts the story of Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Christ outside the tomb on Easter morning (Noli me tangere). It is one of two paintings by Rembrandt that used the twenti- eth chapter of the Gospel of John as it source. The placement of Mary Magdalene relative to Christ makes this panel unique among pictorial rep- resentations of the Noli me tangere. Rather than facing Christ, Rembrandt situates the saint with her back to him. The Magdalene catches a glimpse of Christ as she peers over her right shoulder. Although artists frequently portrayed the Magdalene and Christ in a landscape setting, because the scene takes place outdoors as described by John, Rembrandt’s landscape is especially assertive and dramatic. The encounter occurs before an enor- mous tree that dominates the painting. Light and dark also play a signifi- cant role in Rembrandt’s rendition of this theme. He essentially divides the panel in half with the light-filled, luminous landscape on the left and the darkness of the tomb on the right. The Dutch artist depicted the pre- cise moment when Christ spoke Mary’s name and is recognized by her. Realizing that the figure she perceived to be a gardener was really Christ, she turns toward him away from the tomb, with its two angels perched on the sarcophagus. Christ is dressed as a gardener in a white robe, wearing a broad-brimmed hat and holding a spade. In essence, Rembrandt captured 1 Cynthia A. Schneider has called into question the dating of this panel and its attribu- tion to Rembrandt. See Cynthia A. Schneider, Rembrandt’s Landscapes (New Haven: Yale, 1990), 235, note 102. Unfortunately, she does not offer any further arguments to substanti- ate this assertion. However, the Rembrandt Research Project has authenticated the paint- ing as being from Rembrandt’s hand. Ernst Wetering, A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings: Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project vol. 3, trans. D. Cook-Radmore (Boston: M. Nijhoff Publishers, 1989), A124. 2 Rembrandt’s The Risen Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene is painted oil on wood measuring 61 × 49.5 cm. 250 bobbi dykema Fig. 9.1. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, The Risen Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene, 1638, oil on wood. Royal Collection, Buckingham Palace, London. Photo: Royal Collection Trust, HM Queen Elizabeth II 2012. the moment of revelation when Mary Magdalene became the first witness to the Resurrection of Christ. Focusing on Rembrandt’s unique portrayal of Mary Magdalene, this essay explores what motivated it, considering both pictorial precedents and the cultural and religious climate of the Dutch Republic. Rembrandt’s ico- nography deviates from traditional representations of the Noli me tangere in significant ways. This essay argues that Rembrandt’s new conception .
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