(Schwarzenberg 1821–1846 Rome)
Easter morning, or Noli me tangere, signed, dated J. Fink.1846,
oil on panel, 76 x 48 cm, framed, (GG)

Provenance:
Private Collection Italy.

Exhibited:
Rome, Galleria Carlo Virgilio & C., Quadreria: Dipinti ed acquarelli dal XVIII al XX secolo, 20 November - 22 December 1999, p. 60.

Although little is known about Johann Jacob Fink, as he died already at age 25, it is known that he arrived in Rome in 1840 where he met the Nazarene painters, a group of 19th century idealistic German artists inspired by German Mediaeval art and early Italian Renaissance artists. Their aim was to revive honesty and spirituality in Christian art. Their principal motivation was a reaction against Neoclassicism and academic art. The artist was rediscovered during a 1996 exhibition by the Voralberg Museum in Bregenz (Austria). The museum is also in possession of a preparatory drawing of the present lot.
The represented subject, Noli me tangere, derives its source from the Gospel of John. The iconography depicted is typical of the end of the 15th century, during the late Middle Ages, with the figure of Christ as a gardener equipped with a hoe. His face is encircled with a cruciform halo. Magdalene spreads her arms wide in a gesture of recognition.