In chapter 20 of Gospel of John, when Mary Magdalene returns to the tomb of Jesus three days after his death and burial, she discovers that it is empty and then encounters the resurrected Jesus. At first, she mistakes him for a gardener, but when she recognises him she reaches out to touch him, to which Jesus responds "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God" (John 20:17, KJV).
This episode, known as 'Noli Me Tangere', the Latin for 'touch me not', has been depicted by many artists. At the symposium, we looked at a print of the subject after a painting by William Hamilton, engraved by James Thompson, which was published in the Macklin Bible in 1797.
The Macklin Bible is probably the most ambitious edition of the Bible ever to be published in Britain. Beginning in 1789, the publisher, Thomas Macklin, recruited the many of the most famous artists of the day to design illustrations to narratives in the Bible - Hamilton's 'Noli Me Tangere' is one of seventy-two paintings created for the publication.
We took Hamilton's image as a starting point for discussing this episode in which Jesus' body is presented as untouchable.
A copy of the print can be viewed on the British Museum's online collections.
Naomi Billingsley
This episode, known as 'Noli Me Tangere', the Latin for 'touch me not', has been depicted by many artists. At the symposium, we looked at a print of the subject after a painting by William Hamilton, engraved by James Thompson, which was published in the Macklin Bible in 1797.
The Macklin Bible is probably the most ambitious edition of the Bible ever to be published in Britain. Beginning in 1789, the publisher, Thomas Macklin, recruited the many of the most famous artists of the day to design illustrations to narratives in the Bible - Hamilton's 'Noli Me Tangere' is one of seventy-two paintings created for the publication.
We took Hamilton's image as a starting point for discussing this episode in which Jesus' body is presented as untouchable.
A copy of the print can be viewed on the British Museum's online collections.
Naomi Billingsley