Christus verschijnt als tuinman aan Maria Magdalena 1636 - 1679

Frans van den Wijngaerde created this print, Christus Appears as a Gardener to Mary Magdalene, in the Netherlands, sometime in the mid-17th century. It illustrates the moment in the Gospels when the resurrected Christ appears to Mary Magdalene, who initially mistakes him for a gardener. The print is a fascinating artifact of the religious and social landscape of the Dutch Golden Age. The scene is set not in the biblical Holy Land, but in a recognizable Dutch landscape, complete with windmills and meticulously rendered vegetation. Christ, holding a shovel, is depicted as a humble laborer, reflecting the Protestant values of hard work and simplicity that were gaining prominence in Dutch society at the time. Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene is shown kneeling before him, a gesture of devotion that also speaks to the gendered expectations of the era. By studying such images alongside theological texts and social histories, we can gain a richer understanding of the complex interplay between art, religion, and society in the 17th-century Netherlands.