PTM A/R “Noli me tangere” by Ludovico Mazzolino
27 may 2025 - 10:00
16 november 2025 - 18:00
The temporary exhibition of Ludovico Mazzolino’s Noli me tangere is part of the PTM ANDATE e RITORNO, the programme through which Fondazione Brescia Musei turns the “departures” of its artworks due to loans into the “arrivals” of guest works: an opportunity to welcome masterpieces into the Pinacoteca’s rooms, establishing a dialogue with the permanent collection, giving Brescians and tourists the opportuity to read the museum’s rooms in new ways and from new prespectives
Information and Reservations
Il CUP – Centro Unico Prenotazioni answers from Monday to Saturday, from 10.00 a.m to 6.00 p.m
The Event
Curated by: Michele Danieli
An event promoted by: Comune di Brescia, Fondazione Brescia Musei, Alleanza Cultura, Ateneo di Brescia Accademia di Scienze, Lettere e Arti
Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo and Ateneo di Brescia Accademia di Scienze, Lettere e Arti are part of: Rete dell’800 Lombardo
With the contribution of: Lombardy Region
Supporters of Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo: Metal Work, LABA Libera Accademia Belle Arti
Connecting Partner: INTRED
La Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo belongs to: Rete dell’800 Lombardo
Room 6 of the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, dedicated to the comparison woven between the Brescian artists Moretto and Savoldo with the Venetian – but long active in Bergamo, as well as in the Marche region – Lorenzo Lotto, sees the latter’s famous Nativity leave for the Casa delle Esposizioni in Illegio, where it will appear in the exhibition ‘Wealth. Dilemma perenne’ (6.6.2025 – 9.11.2025).
The occasion allows us to bring to the public’s attention a work from the civic collections that has long been absent from our halls and, on the other hand, was recently exhibited at the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara at the exhibition ‘Il Cinquecento a Ferrara. Mazzolino, Ortolano, Garofalo, Dosso’.
Ludovico Mazzolino
Even though we are at the height of Renaissance, an era dominated by the rediscovery of classicism, with its proportional rules and quest for harmony, for some artists these rules seemed too rigid a constraint: Girolamo Romanino in Brescia, Altobello Melone in Cremona, and Amico Aspertini in Bologna, for instance, sought alternative sources of inspiration and points of reference. In Ferrara, it was undoubtedly Mazzolino who was most resistant to the novelties coming from central Italy, namely to the proto-classicism that Perugino was exporting north of the Apennines.
Mazzolino’s date of birth is unknown, and there is very little information about his beginnings. His earliest dated work is the triptych with the Virgin and Child with Saints Anthony the Abbot and Mary Magdalene now in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin which dates from 1509, when the painter was in his early thirties.
The elements that characterise Mazzolino’s artistic production include, firstly, a boundless admiration for Albrecht Dürer, from whom the painter from Ferrara drew his taste for lively narrative, the inexhaustible curiosity that led him to investigate objects, fabrics and landscapes, as well as an expressiveness that was never aligned with classical serene imperturbability. Secondly, contact with the youthful works of Giorgione: the example of the great Venetian painter – so important also for the contemporary Brescian masters – allows Mazzolino to set his figures in modern landscapes with saturated and deep colours.
The Artwork
When the entrepreneur Angelo Molina died in 1942, his daughters Emma and Amalia donated his painting collection to the City of Brescia, in keeping with his testamentary wishes. One of the most relevant artwork was Noli me tangere, correctly attributed to Ludovico Mazzolino, an early 16th century Brescian artist, recognised as one of the most original artists of his time.
The scene, which depicts Magdalene recognising the risen Jesus in the empty tomb, is rich in symbolism and is set in an atmosphere suspended between drama and fable: a mysterious wind swells the robes, lifts Christ’s shroud and Magdalene’s sleeve, revealing an elegant blue hue. The two characters are close, but the distance between them is unbridgeable: Jesus makes a decisive gesture, while Magdalene responds with an uncertain, almost doubtful movement. Such is the effectiveness of this mute dialogue that the iconographic attributes almost disappear: the jar of ointment that occupies the foreground seems miniaturised, little more than a toy, the hoe that Jesus rests on his shoulder is very thin and appears decidedly inadequate for any agricultural work. The scene is enriched by an episode in the background, that of Jesus meeting the disciples on the road to Emmaus – which has all the appearance of a medieval castle, perched on the top of a mountain and almost suspended in the clouds -, creating a complex and richly significant picture.
Information
Tickets
The tour is included either in the purchase of the Biglietto Musei or in the purchase of the Biglietto Integrato Musei.
Staying in Brescia is worthwhile!
For guests of HB Hotels (Hotel Vittoria, Hotel Regal, Hotel Leonessa, Hotel Master, Hotel Igea), Federalberghi (Hotel Al Poggio Verde, Hotel Ambasciatori) and Areadocks Boutique Hotel the entrance ticket is at a reduced rate upon presentation of the valid voucher issued by the hotel at the cash desk.
Visiting Hours
Summer timetable (1 June – 30 September):
- Mondays (non-holidays): Closed
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 10:00 – 19:00
- Last admission: 6.15 p.m.
Winter hours (1 October – 31 May):
- Mondays (non-holidays): Closed
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 10:00 – 18:00
- Last admission: 17:15
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