HUETTER, Lucas
(? - 1760, Eger)

Noli me Tangere

1753
Oil on panel, 41x39.5 cm
Eger, Megyei Kórház, (formerly the convent of the Brothers of Mercy)

The dining room of the Brothers of Mercy in Eger is decorated by an ensemble of pictures on thirty-nine panels, depicting scenes from the New Testament. This painting is the best known of them. Due to the legendary Mansion Fuorcontrasti built by Bishop Ferenc Barkóczy of Eger seen in the picture's background, many authors published photographies of this panel. Huetter depicted the mansion as it used to stand with its four corner turrets, its dome-like main projection, gateway, flights of stairs and fountains in a valley near Eger. The depiction of the gorge at Felsőtárkány is even structurally faithful. Favouring a more puritanical lifestyle, Bishop Károly Esterházy (Barkóczy's successor) left the former bishop's expensively-built favourite retreat to decay and finally had it demolished.

In the picture's foreground we can see Jesus after his resurrection meeting Mary Magdalene in the mansion's French garden. The scene recalls the mood of bucolic narratives, radiating the gentle emotions of pastorals. Mary Magdalene questions the resurrected Jesus with the gentle attention of charity. Her past is indicated in the peacock, a symbol of vanity while her present, spiritually cleansed by Christ's help, is indicated by the water splashing in the fountain. Represented as a gardener in a green hat, with a spade on his shoulder, Christ makes a gesture indicating "Do not hold me up, I have important business."

The figures of Christ and Mary Magdalene refer to a prototype transmitted by Rubens' engraving studio. While Huetter's composition follows the examples of great masters, his colour contrasts of pink and green, and yellow and red in the figures' clothes, his manner of painting the flaming draperies and his bird's-eye perspect~ve of the mansion's garden are fine examples of the characteristically Rococo monastic painter's individual and inventive painting methods.


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