Italian school (XVIII) - Noli me tangere

Italian School of the 18th Century

Noli me tangere

Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 94 × 76 cm
Framed dimensions: 108 × 86 cm
Period: 18th century (1700/1730)


Description

Interesting painting from an Italian school of the 18th century depicting the Noli me tangere, the Evangelical episode of the meeting between the risen Christ and Mary Magdalene.

The scene is set inside a closed garden, rich in vegetation and small flowers, beyond which unfolds a landscape with architectures and mountainous reliefs. Christ, standing and partially wrapped in a wide pale shroud, turns his gaze toward Magdalene, accompanying the dialogue with a gesture of the hand. The female figure is kneeling at his feet, with her face turned toward Christ and her right arm raised. In the foreground appears the traditional vase of ointments, an iconographic attribute of the saint.

The construction of the figures, the elegance of the drapery and the deliberately restrained color palette, dominated by browns and greens of the background and enlivened by the red of Magdalene’s dress, link the work to the Italian figurative culture of the 18th century, still sensitive to 17th-century models.

Particularly evocative is the setting: the flowering vegetal stage separates the foreground from the landscape behind and gives the scene a compact and contemplative character.

Frame

The work is presented in a carved and gilded wooden frame, characterized by a wide band with regular grooves, a continuous ribbon pattern along the outer edge, and a stylized vegetation decoration in the inner lip.

The frame shows a natural patina, abrasions and small losses of gilding, as well as cracks and openings at the corners, clearly documented by the photographs. Overall it retains a good decorative effect and is coherent with the historical presentation of the work.

Frame to be considered an accessory element.

Condition report

The painting is in a modest overall state of conservation, for its age, but with evident prior conservation interventions.

The painting surface shows widespread and pronounced craquelure, particularly evident in the dark areas, the sky, and around the halos and flesh tones. Irregularities, abrasions, small losses, and areas affected by old retouching are also visible.

Close-up examination reveals a surface with varnish noticeably altered and inhomogeneous, which in some areas appears glossy and weighs down the legibility of the original tones. Localized liftings and small losses of the paint film are also observed, especially along some edges.

The reverse is particularly significant: the canvas shows numerous traces of previous interventions and impregnations, with wide areas of different tonalities. A rectangular reinforcing patch is present on the back, attributable to a previous restoration intervention. From photographic documentation the canvas appears to be mounted on a non-recent wooden frame.

Overall the work preserves good iconographic legibility; a professional cleaning and conservational revision intervention could likely improve chromatic depth and readability of the painting, pending verification of the condition of the paint film.

Ideal for collecting and investment

- The frame currently present is included with the sale of the work as a courtesy. Any transport damages related to the frame alone cannot be the subject of a refund or dispute.

Photographic note: Some of the images of the work were professionally taken with the help of artificial lighting (studio spotlight) in order to highlight more clearly the painting characteristics, material, color, and conservational state. The perception of colors and brightness may therefore vary slightly compared with viewing the work under natural or ambient light.

With lawful provenance documentation - Expertise

Professional packing and insured shipping