Noli me Tangere by Fra Angelico is an artwork and a phrase to spark contemplation. It asks us not to cling to anything, for nothing that you can touch is permanent and no thought that you have can be held or clung to.
Noli me Tangere by Fra Angelico
Noli me Tangere (or Touch Me Not) depicts a significant iconographic scene from the bible in which Mary Magdalene sees Jesus walking outside of his tomb on the third day after his crucifixion. At first, she mistakes him for a gardener as he is carrying a garden tool. She then recognises him, tries to embrace him and he warns her ‘touch me not’, (or in Latin noli me tangere).
This artwork is part of a series of frescoes painted on a wall of each monk’s cell on the first floor of the Dominican Convent of San Marco in Florence, Italy. Each cell contains a fresco which matches in size and shape the single round-headed window beside it. This represents one window to the natural world and the other to the divine world. The series was created from 1439 to 1444 by Giovanni of Fiesole, also known as Fra Angelico (or Beata Angelico), in collaboration with Benozzo Gozzoli.
Noli me tangere was made for a cell of an intermediate level monk. It’s an opportunity for each monk to contemplate their teachings and philosophies.
A Closer Look
In Renaissance Europe, Christians looked to nature for spiritual enlightenment and to guide their contemplation of the divine. In illuminated manuscripts made during the period, intricately-painted landscapes of flora and fauna were often represented as aids to prayer.
This fresco was purpose-made for monks to meditate and contemplate both the divine and the secular, not only the meaning of their choice to serve but also the meaning of life itself. Every pattern and every mark was a potential layer of focus and contemplation, nothing is purely decorative.
On the ground are many white flowers with red spots, in groups of three or five, at the centre which match the shape and colour of Jesus’ crucifixion wounds. Any flower with a 5 (crucifixion wounds) or 3 (holy trinity) pattern was considered sacred. White symbolises purity. Red signifies the blood of Christ and martyrdom. Although these flowers do not show much detail, plant symbolism was a universal visual language in art that allowed even the illiterate to grasp ideas and philosophies on the meaning of life.
Plant symbolism associated with the resurrection of Christ:
- Pearlwort (Sagina procumbens) – a tiny plant with white flowers. It bulks up as it grows and appears to form a cushioning underfoot. According to Scottish Gaelic legend, pearlwort formed a cushioned carpet for Christ as he left the tomb. The plant was seen as blessed and protective in the Scottish Highlands.
- Primrose – with its 5 round-shaped petals symbolises the incarnation of Christ as it blooms in early spring. It can represent youth, everlasting existence, longevity, young love, new beginnings, new life and speaks the youthful idea that you can’t live without a singular person. White primrose is also symbolic of sadness and mourning.
- Wood Sorrel (oxalis) – also known as the shamrock – or hallelujah plant as it also flowers around Easter. It has 5 petals and trefoil leaves. Fra Angelico is known to have used this plant in his artworks.
How can it help us through a pandemic?
Although this may at first seem like a Covid-esque warning to back off, both this scene and phrase have been timelessly open to interpretation.
- One interpretation is that there can no longer be a physical connection and there is no sense to cling only to the physical realm, which is temporary. Stop clinging to what you know. The original Koine Greek version was more like ‘stop clinging to me’ or ‘don’t handle me’ (mḗ mou háptou) which can also be thought of as a way of saying, I am not flesh and blood anymore, you can’t even touch me.
- This phrase appears in literature and culture and is used in medical teaching too as a warning to avoid handling delicate internal organs such as the pancreas or the heart.
- We can contemplate mortality, questions of an afterlife or our unhealthy clinging to those we think may save us, medically, romantically, physically or otherwise.
- Noli me Tangere could also remind us that suffering is entirely natural and follows a cycle that leads to regrowth, redemption and healing. We can’t hold on to any of it, or we’ll get stuck.
The Artist
- Guido di Pietro, or Fra Angelico (the angelic friar)
- born c 1395 and died Feb 18 1455
- born at Vicchio, in the Tuscan province of Mugello, Italy
- mostly earned his reputation through this series of frescoes he made whilst a friar at the Convent of San Marco 1436-1445, in Florence.
- he is patron saint of artists
- although he trained as an illuminator of manuscripts, convent frescoes are created without the expensive trappings of blue and gold paint and are typically pale, humble and serene with clear bright pastel colours
- his careful arrangement of a few significant figures and skilful use of expression, motion and gesture were an inspiration for Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, as well as, much later, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Where to find Noli me Tangere
Museu di San Marco dell’ Angelico, Florence, Italy
The original convent is now the state museum, Museo Nazionale di San Marco.
The convent was stripped from the Dominicans in 1808, during the Napoleonic Wars, and became a possession of the state in 1866. Until 2014, San Marco still housed a small community of Dominican friars. Noli me tangere remains intact on the cell wall where it was first created.
The entrance to the museum is through the Cloister of St. Antoninus, decorated with frescoes by Bernardino Poccetti in the 16th-17th century. From this cloister you can access the rooms forming the Museum of San Marco.
The Sala dell’Ospizio, where pilgrims were received, is now a gallery where many of Fra Angelico’s most important panel paintings have been assembled.
Follow in the Footsteps of Fra Angelico
Florence
- birthplace: Vicchio, in the Tuscan province of Mugello, Italy – here there is a street named after him which also houses the Beata Angelico Museum of Sacred Art, although there are no Angelico artworks here.
- Church of San Domenico, Fiesole. Before moving to San Marco, Fra Angelico lived here in the convent. Fiesole is a small hilltop town that overlooks Florence with stunning views. He is first recorded as a friar at the Dominican convent in Fiesole in 1423, returning in 1449 after a stay in Rome. There is a commemorative plaque explaining that Fra Angelico studied there and some artworks.
- most of his artworks can be found in Museu di San Marco dell’ Angelico but there are others in Florence at the Uffizi Galleries and the Accademia Gallery Museum
Rome
- He also painted the frescoes at the Vatican Niccoline Chapel
- His tomb is in the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Look out for the tiny street leading up to the back door of the church which is named after him at Via del Beato Angelico. He died in an adjoining convent there in 1455. There are no Fra Angelico artworks here.
Find other works by Fra Angelico at:
- Diocesan Museum, Cortona, Tuscany
- Orvieto Cathedral, Umbria, Italy
- National Gallery, London
- Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
- Prado, Madrid
- MNAC, Barcelona
- The Met, NYC
- Louvre, Paris
Susan Reid says:
A favorite of mine. Enjoyed your thoughtful post especially the details of the flowers–ties in nicely with the fact she had mistaken him for the gardener.
July 22, 2021 — 13:52
Artravelist says:
Hi Susan, thank you for your kind words, it’s much appreciated. I would certainly like to see this artwork in person one day.
July 29, 2021 — 15:48