Noli me tangere

This term, we are studying Giotto and his works of art. So far, we have studied 6 frescoes that he painted, the most recent being this one:

Noli Me Tangere, Giotto

The girls are instructed to study it without talking for about 3 minutes. They are supposed to then narrate back to me what the picture looks like (they can also give me a rough sketch) and tell me what they notice, and what they think about the painting. Most of their observations are spot on. Kailyn is always noticing the trees, or greenery and usually tells me what she thinks they represent. Louisa is always first commenting on exactly how many people are in the picture and how many are wearing "halos."

After they studied this most recent picture, I asked Louisa why she thought Jesus was holding his hand up to Mary (she had already determined it was Mary Magdalene). She said she thinks Jesus is telling her not to touch him "like it says in the Bible" that he has to return to His father first. I was happy to tell her that she was right and that the title of this painting, "Noli me tangere" is Latin for "Don't touch Me." She was excited to read the passage in John that this refers to.

Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" John 20:17