Marcantonio Franceschini (Bologna 1648 – 1729)

Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well; Noli me Tangere

A pair, oil on canvas
Each, 56 ¾ by 41 ¼ in (144 by 105 cm.)

Provenance:
Commissioned from the artist by John Cecil, Fifth Earl of Exeter, who died before their delivery (see note), then sold by the artist to Carega.

Literature:
Bologna and Ferrara: Two Centuries of Emilian Painting, Dover Street Gallery, London, New York City (1999), pp. 46-48 (reproduced in color).
D.C. Miller, Marcantonio Franceschini, Turin 2001, p. 217, reproduced in color pl. 37 and 38, also reproduced p. 215.

Marcantonio Franceschini was a Bolognese painter and draughtsman. He was employed by the princes of Europe, working extensively for Prince Johann Adam of the House of Liechtenstein, and towards the end of his career was called to Rome by Pope Clement XI, who eventually knighted him.

We know much of Franceschini’s work through his surviving account book.  An entry posted on the 4th of June 1704 describes “Due quadri fatti per il Milord Exeter con un Noli me Tangere e una Samaritana, due figure per ciascheduno, restati a me per la morte di ditto Signore; li ho venduti al Sig.r Carega, Doppie sessanta di Spagna, sono….990 [Two paintings made for Milord Exeter with a Noli me Tangere and a Samaritan Woman, two figures in each, kept by me because of the death of the aforementioned Lord; I have sold them to Signor Carega, sixty Spanish doubloons, which are… 990]." 1.

By the time these pendant pieces had been painted, Francheschini was already a famous and sought after painter, and this commission for a British patron is evidence of his international popularity.  The “Milord Exeter”, mentioned by Franceschini refers to John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter.  Cecil was a great collector and patron of Italian painters, and among the earliest of the English “grand tourists.”  Earl Exeter had acquired works by many of the most prominent Italian artists of the time, such as Carlo Dolci, Carlo Marrati, Baciccio and Luca Giordano, and naturally a commission from such a celebrated and important foreign connoisseur would have been attended to with great care by Franceschini. 2. However, Exeter died in late August 1700, before the paintings had been completed, and the two paintings thus never left the artist’s studio.  As Franceschini’s account book cited above testifies, the artist kept the completed pictures and later sold them to a Mr. Carega, the identity of whom is uncertain.

This pendant pair representing Christ and the Samaritan Woman and the Noli me Tangere are lushly colored and highly finished, and exemplify the coolly elegant classicism of Franceschini’s late mature period.  Dwight Miller, noting the particular care with which the artist painted them and the extensive and varied colors he employed, considered that in the present pair Franceschini “worked to the best of his ability, creating paintings that are amongst his most beautiful.”3.

In 1702, Franceschini left Bologna for Genoa, where he had been given the prestigious commission to fresco the Salone del Maggior Consiglio in the Palazzo Ducale, a project which was to keep him there until he returned home to Bologna in 1704. Given his time there, it is possible that the “Sig.r Carega” that Franceschini sold the paintings to was a member of noble Genoese “Carrega” family, whose grand Palazzo Carrega Cataldi was on the Strada Nuova. The critic Ratti had noted Francheschini’s popularity among the Genoese elite, and praised the works by him in some of the most famous collections of the city. 4.

Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well and Noli Me Tangere are commonly painted subjects.  Their combination as pendants is relatively rare, however.  Both obviously feature Christ alone with a female figure, and both are found in the Gospel of John.  Both stories highlight moments in which Christ reveals himself to be the Messiah; when he appears to Mary Magdalene, it is after he has risen, and the Samaritan woman says to him, “I see you are a prophet.” According to the Gospel of John (20: 11-18), Mary Magdalene weeps beside Christ’s empty tomb after the moment of Resurrection.  When the risen Christ appears, the Magdalene first mistakes him for a gardener who may have knowledge of the whereabouts of Christ’s body.  But soon she recognizes the man as Christ himself and makes a joyous attempt to embrace him. Christ deflects this advance with the instruction that Mary Magdalene is not to touch him.

This painting is entitled Noli Me Tangere, which corresponds to the words of Christ meaning “do not touch me” that are recorded in the Latin Bible.  The focus of the painting is clearly on the awkward meeting of these biblical characters. Characterized by contrary and almost theatrical movements of advance and retreat, of joy and dismay, the engaging drama between these two  figures takes place in a lush (and lushly painted) landscape, as if to explain why Christ was first taken to be a gardener.  This landscape is defined by a mountainous outcrop covered with trees growing between cracks in the stone.  Behind the figures we see the tomb from which Christ has miraculously exited, with two angels sitting on top it, evidently shocked by the vision of Christ standing in the flesh before them.  An angel holds the standard with the cross, symbolizing the resurrected Lord.  Mary’s customary jar of ointment rests by her side.  The muted tones of the background provide a neutral contrast to the brilliant robes worn by Christ and the Magdalene.

The story of Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well also comes from John’s Gospel (4: 4-42).  Christ, alone, and tired from his journey, sits down at a well.  Before long, a Samaritan woman comes to draw water from the well.  Christ said to her, “Give me a drink.”  Christ’s request from the Samaritan surprised her as Jews usually have nothing to do with Samaritans and little to do with women they do not know.  And so the Samaritan woman replies, “What! You, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a Samaritan woman?” 5.

Franceschini here depicts the moment when Christ is making his request of the Samaritan woman, who listens intently.  Her eyes meet those of Christ, she rests her weight against the well and props her hand on top of her vessel.  The curves of Christ’s body and of the woman form parentheses, centering the tension in the space between them.  The landscape behind them is rich and verdant, appearing to make way for the clearing the two protagonists share.  Their robes are richly colored, and as in the Noli Me Tangere, contrast with the muted colors of their background.
Behind them, we see the disciples arriving back from the town, laden with food and surprised to see Christ speaking to a woman.  Peter is emerging from the thicket behind the well, and his astonishment is clearly written on his face.  Behind him another disciple has just caught his first glimpse of the scene, and another disciple peeks through the bushes, not quite sure what to make of their discovery.