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Francesco da Rimini , Italian, fl. c.1322-d.before 1348

Title

The Crucifixion, Noli Me Tangere

Date1330s

MediumTempera and gold leaf on wood panel

Dimensions

25 x 15 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 1940

Object numberNGI.1022

DescriptionThis panel was originally one wing of a small portable diptych. The second wing is today in the Stibbert Museum in Florence, and by the saints represented on it, it appears evident that the diptych was painted for a Franciscan convent or for a family closely devoted to the Franciscan order. In our panel the episode of the encounter of Christ with Mary Magdalene derives from a famous example painted by Giotto in Padua, whose influence on the entire 13th-century school of Rimini was crucial.

The painter was until recently called the Master of Verucchio, a sobriquet derived from the name of a small village near Rimini. It was in the local Collegiata church that a crucifix painted by him was first identified, a pivotal work, which permitted the personality of this artist to be reconstructed. Recent studies have finally identified this painter with Francesco da Rimini, who is known to have painted some of the frescoes for the refectory of San Francesco in Bologna.

(National Gallery of Ireland: Essential Guide, 2008)
ProvenanceAynard collection, Lyons; purchased, Mr R. Langton Douglas, 1940Exhibition HistoryExhibition of French Primitives, 1904

Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964

Giovanni da Rimini: An Early 14th Century Masterpiece Reunited, The Board of Trustees of the National Gallery (UK), London, 14 June - 08 October 2017

Label TextThis small devotional painting, by an artist from the east coast of Italy, depicts two Christian narrative scenes from the New Testament. The crucifixion of Christ is shown in the upper section, with the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist mourning his death. The jawbone at the base of the cross is a symbol of Adam, who medieval writers believed was buried on the site of the crucifixion. Below is a scene from after Christ’s resurrection, when he appeared to Mary Magdalene. He told her not to touch him (Noli me tangere), but to go and tell his disciples that he was resurrected.