Christ as a Gardener Appearing to St. Mary Magdalen

Lucas van Leyden · 1519
The Cleveland Museum of Art

Lucas van Leyden engraved this plate in 1519. By then he worked in a softer manner, with fine silvery lines and gentle shading.

Jesus, in a wide hat and a long cloak, stands at the left and touches Mary Magdalene’s forehead with one finger. She kneels in a fine dress and a cap, holding a jar of ointment. Far off on the road, three women walk away.

From the text

She thought He was the gardener (John 20:15)

He said to her, “Mary.” She said, “Rabboni!” (John 20:16)

“Do not cling to Me” (John 20:17)

The artist’s own

Jesus in a wide traveller’s hat — painters often dressed him as a gardener, after John 20:15

The jar of ointment — the women had brought spices (Luke 24:1)

Mary in the dress of a Netherlandish lady

Details

Jesus

In a wide hat, he reaches out to her.

The touch

One finger touches her forehead.

The jar

She holds a jar of ointment.

Three women

Far off on the road.

Lucas van Leyden, Netherlandish, 1494–about 1533. The Cleveland Museum of Art (Dudley P. Allen Fund, 1953.350) · Engraving · Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access: Collection API record "share_license_status": "CC0" (Creative Commons Zero, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).

The verses

John 20:14–17When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there; but she did not recognize that it was Jesus. “Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). “Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”