Christ and the Adulteress

Title

[cda 2020]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Letter from E. Turquin to D. Koepplin, 17.04.1996; Koepplin Archive]

In this depiction of the theme Christ is shown at the centre of the composition, holding the wrist of the adulterous woman with his right hand, while making a blessing with his left hand. She wears elegant courtly attire and her hair is tied back with thin black bands. She looks out at the viewer. To Christ's right are three men, one has a basket of rocks and the soldier beside him is clutching a stone in his right hand. More men look on from Christ’s left. Each with a different facial expression as well as distinct features. One is wearing a bishop's mitre decorated with a crescent moon.

[cda 2020]

Attributions: Circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder	[Letter from D. Koepplin to E. Turquin, Paris, 19.04.1996; Koepplin Archive] [Letter W. Schade to D. Koepplin, 05.07.1994; Koepplin Archive]
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder	(Hans Kemmer?) [Emmendörffer 1997, 96-97]
Hans Kemmer	? or workshop Lucas Cranach [Emmendörffer 1997, 96-97]
Lucas Cranach the Elder	[Prof. Flechsig, photocopy of a letter from Dr. Pauli, Director of the Kunsthalle, Hamburg to the owner, 10.09.1927; Koepplin Archive]

Production dates: after 1520
about 1510

Production dates

after 1520	'not before 1520' [Letter W. Schade to D. Koepplin, 05.07.1994; Koepplin Archive]
about 1510	[Prof. Flechsig; photocopy of a letter from Dr. Pauli, Director of the Kunsthalle, Hamburg to Herr Wirz, 10.09.1927; Koepplin Archive]
about 1520	[Emmendörffer 1997, 97]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 61 x 80.5 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 61 x 80.5 cm
[E-mail correspondance from Dr. Olivier Lefeuvre, Christie's, Paris with the cda, 14.03.2018]

Owner: Private Collection
Repository: Private Collection

CDA ID: PRIVATE_NONE-P393
FR (1978) Nr.: FR-none
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P393/

Provenance

in the collection of Dr. Hommel, auctioned at J.M. Heberle (Lempertz’sche Söhne), Cologne 19.-20.08.1909, lot 28, 65 x 84 cm
[Emmendörffer 1997, 196, Fn. 437]
private collection, Germany
[Photocopy of a letter from Dr. Pauli, Director of the Kunsthalle, Hamburg to the owner, 10.09.1927; Koepplin Archive]
1994, private collection, Spain
[Handwritten note on the reverse of a photograph; Koepplin Archive]
sale, Paris
[E-mail correspondance from Dr. Olivier Lefeuvre, Christie's, Paris with the cda, 14.03.2018]
Christie's, Paris, 20.06.2018, sale 16485, lot 3

Literature

Reference on page

Catalogue Number

Figure / Plate

Emmendörffer 1997

96-97, 196, fn. 437

Fig. 33

Author	Christoph Emmendörffer
Title	Hans Kemmer. Ein Lübecker Maler der Reformationszeit
Place of Publication	Leipzig
Year of Publication	1997

Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

W. Schade does not consider the painting to be by Cranach, but rather an independent master who drew on the painting in Konach. He thinks the artist may have been trained in the Netherlands, showing a good rendition of heads that are dissimilar to anything produced in the Cranach workshop,and suggests that the style is closer to Hans Kemmer.

[Letter W. Schade to D. Koepplin, 05.07.1994; Koepplin Archive]

Christ and the Adulteress, after 1520

Images

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/PRIVATE_NONE-P393/ (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/PRIVATE_NONE-P393/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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