Woman Taken in Adultery

Woman Taken in Adultery

Painting on spruce?

Medium

Painting on spruce?

[Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, revised 2011]

Christ bends down in front of a gate and writes in the earth with his right hand. The adulteress stands beside him, in front and behind him there are mercenary soldiers and Pharisees. A dog scratches himself in the foreground.

[Miklós Gálos, Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, Budapest 2011]

Attribution
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, revised 2011]

Dating
about 1525 - 1550
1516-1519

Dating

about 1525 - 1550

"2. Viertel des 16. Jahrhunderts"
[Cat. Budapest 1967]

1516-1519

[Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, revised 2011]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 68.7 x 46.2 x 0.4 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 68.7 x 46.2 x 0.4 cm

  • [cda 2014]

Signature / Dating

None

Labels

none, as the panel has been thinned (with a plane) and cradled, only the label with the [current] …

Labels

later inscription, stamps, seals, labels:

  • none, as the panel has been thinned (with a plane) and cradled, only the label with the [current] inventory number (Országos Képtár, Szépmuvészeti Múzeum)

  • [Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, revised 2011]

Owner
Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, Budapest
Repository
Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, Budapest
Location
Budapest
CDA ID
HU_SMB_816
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/HU_SMB_816/

Provenance

- in the collection of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, Brussels. In the viennese inventory of the collection from 1659: 'Nr. 800. Ein Stückhel von Öhlfarb auf Holcz, warin vnnser Herr Gott mitt den Pharisehen, so die Ehebrecherin zu ihme pringen. In einer glatt vergulden Rahmen, das innere Leistel schwartz, hoch 3 Spann 8 ¿ Finger vnndt 2 Spann 7 Finger braith. Original von Lucas Cranich.' (No. 800. A work in oil on wood, depicting Christ with the Pharisees when the adultress approaches him. In a smooth gilded frame with a black inner moulding, height 3 Spann 8 ¿ Finger and 2 Spann 7 Finger wide. Original by Lucas Cranich.)
(the measurements convert as: 80.08 × 56.16 cm; the paintings were measured in their frames.)

- engraving in: Prodromus oder Vor Licht des eröffneten Schau- und Wunder Prachtes aller deren an dem kaisl. Hof, sich befindlichen Kunst Schätzen und Kostbarkeiten, von J. Stampart und A. J. Prenner, Wien, 1735 Tf. 21 top left(inverted): 1770 - Schloß Pressburg (Bratislava)

- 1848 the court chamber commitee of Ofen (Buda, Budapest) transferred the painting to the Hungarian National Museum in Pest (Budapest) Inv. No. Átalános Képtár (Paintings Gallery): 276

-1877 Országos Képtár (National Gallery), Budapest (Acquisition No.: 151. Here kept in storage)

- 1906 Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, Budapest (storage)

[Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, revised 2011]

Exhibitions

Budapest 1953

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Frank 2018 95 fn. 15, 107 Fig. 25
AuthorKatharina Frank
TitleDie biblischen Historiengemälde der Cranach-Werkstatt. Christus und die Ehebrecherin als lehrreiche 'Historie' im Zeitalter der Reformation
Place of PublicationHeidelberg
Year of Publication2018
Show Literature
Garas 2001 394-395
AuthorKlára Garas
TitleA budai vár egykori gyujteménye. Képek a Szépmuvészeti Múzeumban
Publicationin Tanulmányok Budapest múltjából XXIX. A budavári királyi palota évszázadai. Kiállítás és konferencia
Place of PublicationBudapest
Year of Publication2001
Pages381-410
Show Literature
Garas 1968 274 No. 800
AuthorKlára Garas
TitleDas Schicksal der Sammlung des Erzherzogs Leopold Wilhelm
JournalJahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien
Place of PublicationMunich
Issue64 (1968)
Year of Publication1968
Show Literature
Cat. Budapest 1967 167-168
AuthorAndor Pigler
TitleKatalog der Galerie Alter Meister I-II
Place of PublicationBudapest
Year of Publication1967
Show Literature
Fenyo 1954 52-53 Fig. 31
AuthorIvan Fenyo
TitleUn dessin, et quelques tableaux de Cranach au Musée des Beaux-Arts
JournalBulletin du Musée Hongrois des Beaux-Arts
Issue5 (1954)
Year of Publication1954
Pages44-53
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Budapest 1953 22 039
EditorIvan Fenyo
TitleLucas Cranach emlékkiállítás
Place of PublicationBudapest
Year of Publication1953
Show Literature
Garas 1948 25
AuthorGaras
TitleTableaux provenant de la collection de l'archiduc Léopold-Guillaune au Muée des Beaux-Arts
JournalBulletin du Musée Hongrois des Beaux-Arts
Issue2 (1948)
Year of Publication1948
Pages22-26
Show Literature
Cat. Budapest 1909 B 498 No. 816
Authorn. a.
TitleA Magyar Nemzeti Muzeum képtárának festményei és grafikai állaga
Volume1
Place of PublicationBudapest
Year of Publication1909
Show Literature
Cat. Budapest 1897 494 No. 816
Authorn. a.
TitleAz Országos Képtár mutárgyainak leíró lajstroma, Athenaeum
Place of PublicationBudapest
Year of Publication1897
Show Literature
Cat. Budapest 1870 129 No. V./156
EditorAntal Ligeti
TitleA Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum képcsarnokának ismerteto lajstroma
Place of PublicationBuda
Year of Publication1870
Show Literature
Cat. Budapest 1868 5 No. 46
EditorÁgoston Kubinyi, János Herz
TitleA Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Képtárának lajstroma
Place of PublicationPest
Year of Publication1868
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

"When I compare the faces in this painting with other works by Cranach I cannot imagine that this painting was produced in the Cranach workshop. The hair which was frequently highlighted with white paint appears atypical. Also the faces of the people do not fit in the Cranach-scheme. This should serve for further discussion."

[Transl. comment by cda user Dirk Eilers, Kronach, 19 Jan. 2012]

The panel was presumably formally part of a wing panel and has been separated from its other half (image either above or below); furthermore the original reverse of panel is no longer present and it has been reinforced with two battens.

[Herrschaft, cda 2014]

  • Woman Taken in Adultery, about 1525 - 1550

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse
  • irr
  • uv_light

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License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Technical studies

06. 2014Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared Reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid, black medium and brushes of varying widths

Type/Ductus:

- detailed and freehand underdrawing

- thin to broader lines

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe the essential details and the facial features; no representation of volume

Deviations:

- alterations made during the painting process to clearly define form

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2014]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

06. 2014Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • UV-light photography
  • uv_light
  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

2014 - Technical Examination

  • reverse

Support

- the support is made of coniferous wood with the grain running horizontally

- 5 planks, dimensions (verso): 7.6 (l.); 7.4; 10.8; 13.4; 7.0 (r.) cm

- trimmed along the top edge

- the cradle is made of coniferous wood

- beneath the cradle - along the upper and lower edges - depression in the wood containing a grey substance; probably from a wooden batten used to reinforce the panel

Ground and Imprimatura

- a thin, white ground extends to the edge of the panel

Paint Layers and Gilding

- the painted surface extends to the edge of the panel

- along the left and right edges thin black painted lines (2-3 mm in width) were applied on the painted surface

  • examined by Jana Herrschaft

Condition Reports

Date2014 -

- washboard-like warping of the support resulting from the cradle

- Craquelée extends over the entire painted surface, primarily in the direction of the grain

- retouches

- open joins and splits in the support, partial flaking along the splits

- yellowed varnish

  • examined by Jana Herrschaft

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Woman Taken in Adultery', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/HU_SMB_816/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Woman Taken in Adultery', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/HU_SMB_816/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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