This painting was once a side panel of an altarpiece likely centered on the Crucifixion. Two of the Four Gospels identify Mary Magdalene as the first person to see Christ resurrected. Finding her weeping at his empty tomb, Christ calls her name, and she reaches out to embrace him. He responds, “Touch me not [noli me tangere].” The scene unfolds in a garden, whose tapestry-like profusion of vegetation decorates the surface of this panel. A tree separates the two figures, directing the viewer’s gaze to the space between their hands.