Christ and the Adulteress

Christ and the Adulteress

Title

Christ and the Adulteress

[Cat. Cologne 1969, 45]

Painting on limewood

Medium

Painting on limewood

[Cat. Cologne 1969, 45]

The painting depicts the sinner at the centre of a figurative scene. Jesus kneels in front of her and while pointing at her is about to write in Latin on the ground: 'Let he who is innocent throw the first stone'. The pair is encircled by a crowd of men,

The painting depicts the sinner at the centre of a figurative scene. Jesus kneels in front of her and while pointing at her is about to write in Latin on the ground: 'Let he who is innocent throw the first stone'. The pair is encircled by a crowd of men, some dressed in very imaginative clothing, some already holding stones to punish the adulteress. From a gallery at a central vantage point two Pharisees watch the event, other men also look down. The apostles can be seen sitting behind Jesus.

[Görres, cda 2016]

Attributions
Heinrich Vogtherr
Circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Heinrich Vogtherr

[Krischel 2003, 18-20] [Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005, 287]

Circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Cat. Cologne 1969, 45]

Production date
1521

Production date

1521

[Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005, 287] [Collection Ferdinand Franz Wallraf , inventory 1824/1825, fol. 103 verso, No. 308] [1]

[1] [Cat. Cologne 1969, 45]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 113.5 x 92 cm (addition of 10.5 cm on left side)

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 113.5 x 92 cm (addition of 10.5 cm on left side)

  • [Cat. Cologne 1969, 45]

Signature / Dating

Date on bottom right: '15.1 [...]' (remnants of an artist's insignia?)

Signature / Dating

  • Date on bottom right: '15.1 [...]' (remnants of an artist's insignia?)

  • [Cat. Cologne 1969, 45]

Inscriptions and Labels

Christ writes on the floor: 'QVI SINE
PECCATO
EST PRIMVS
VOLLAT
LAPI
DEM'
[Cat. Cologne 1969, 45]

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

  • Christ writes on the floor:

  • 'QVI SINE

  • PECCATO

  • EST PRIMVS

  • VOLLAT

  • LAPI

  • DEM'

  • [Cat. Cologne 1969, 45]

Owner
Wallraf-Richartz-Museum - Fondation Corboud, Köln
Repository
Wallraf-Richartz-Museum - Fondation Corboud, Köln
Location
Cologne
CDA ID
DE_WRMK_WRM530
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_WRMK_WRM530/

Provenance

  • Ferdinand Franz Wallraf Collection (inventory 1824/1825, fol. 103 verso, No. 308)
    [Cat. Cologne 1969, 45]

Exhibitions

Cologne 2003
Halle 2006, no. 73

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Halle 2006 158, 162 073 Pl. p. 161
EditorThomas Schauerte
TitleDer Kardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg. Renaissancefürst und Mäzen. Bd. 1: Katalog
Place of PublicationRegensburg
Year of Publication2006
Show Literature
Smith 2006 32 Pl. p. 161
AuthorJeffrey Chipps Smith
TitleDie Kunst des Scheiterns
Publicationin Thomas Schauerte, ed., Der Kardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg. Renaissancefürst und Mäzen. Bd. 1: Katalog
Place of PublicationRegensburg
Year of Publication2006
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005 287, 288 Fn. 13 under No. 14 Fig. 129
EditorHarald Marx, Karin Kolb, Ingrid Mössinger
TitleCranach Anlässlich der Ausstellung Cranach vom 13. November 2005 bis 12. März 2006 in den Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz. Eine Ausstellung in Kooperation mit der Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Show Literature
Schaefer, Saint-George 2003 35-38
AuthorIris Schaefer, Caroline von Saint-George
TitleZur Unterzeichnung von Gemälden Lucas Cranachs d.Ä. und seines Umkreises im Wallraf-Richartz-Museum - Foundation Corboud
JournalKölner Museums-Bulletin
Issue2
Year of Publication2003
Pages23-38
Show Literature
Cat. Cologne 1969 45
AuthorIrmgard Hiller
TitleKatalog der deutschen und niederländischen Gemälde bis 1550. Kataloge des Wallraf-Richartz-Museums, V
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication1969
Show Literature
Lüdecke 1953 B 120 119
AuthorHeinz Lüdecke
TitleLucas Cranach der Ältere. Der Künstler und seine Zeit
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1953
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

Krischel 2003, 18-22 suggests that the panel was part of the cycle of altarpieces commissioned by Albrecht of Brandenburg for the collegiate church in Halle (Alte Stift von Halle), as it could be the pendant piece to 'A Martyrdom of Erasmus' (Aschaffenburg, Staatsgalerie im Schloss Johannisburg) [DE_BStGS_6275_FRSup005] also created by Heinrich Vogtherr the Elder.

[Görres, cda 2013]

  • Christ and the Adulteress, 1521

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse
  • irr

Technical studies

02. 2014Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid, black medium; brushes of varying widths

Type/Ductus:

- freehand detailed underdrawing

- thin to broader lines

- hatching-strokes

- numerous corrections in the architecture

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; the lines define the contours of the figures and indicate facial features and details; representation of volume with hatching-strokes

Deviations:

- numerous adjustments made during the painting process; changes (e. g. in the heads, particularly in the head to the left of the centre)

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Heinrich Vogtherr

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich cda 2014]

2003Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Underdrawing

- powerful and spirited underdrawing employing at least two or three different brushes and a water-based medium

- cursory outlines and the initial inner forms with broad lines

- in the area of the architect frequent uncertainty in the form of double and correcting lines

- hatching-strokes emphasis volume and define the areas of shadow in the robes

- confident, in part painterly-decorative lines confront lines, that reveal anatomical or perspectival inaccuracies

- deviations in the painted version in the rugged features of the faces

- an important alteration was made to the disproportial head in the left half of the image: it was originally conceived considerably smaller and facing right

[Schaefer,Saint-George 2003, 35-38]

  • examined by Iris Schaefer
  • examined by Caroline von Saint-George

Condition Reports

Date1969

  • at the left edge a piece measuring 10.5 cm was added

  • large retouching in the green floor

  • numerous large paint losses and abraded areas

[Cat. Cologne 1969, 45]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Christ and the Adulteress', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_WRMK_WRM530/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Christ and the Adulteress', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_WRMK_WRM530/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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