New photography by Ed Pollard captured with a digital camera-2006.

Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery

Artist Lucas Cranach the Younger (German, 1515-1586)

Dateafter 1537

MediumOil on panel

Dimensions29 1/4 x 48 in. (74.3 x 121.9 cm)
Overall, Frame: 38 x 57 x 3 1/2 in. (96.5 x 144.8 x 8.9 cm)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.484

Terms

Religion
Women
Men
Christ
Renaissance
Germany

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

On view

DescriptionThis is an oil on panel painting. The panel contains evidence of eighteen people, although, for some only the tops of their heads can be seen. The perspective is in close range, bringing the viewer into an intimate space. Christ is in the center wearing a red robe over a bluish gray tunic. His left hand holds the wrist of the adulterous woman, his right points two fingers at her. She wears an orange dress, the bodice of which is slightly torn open revealing her breast. She wears a thin filmy scarf around her shoulder and over her head. Her eyes are cast downward. To Christ's right are two white bearded men, they seem to be in discussion with Christ. The one man in the foreground has a bag of rocks; he clutches one stone behind his back. Each man has a different facial expression as well as distinct features: there are no perfect generic faces, they are all very individual. The man in soldier's garb on Christ's left in the foreground looks directly at the viewer, as if suddenly he is aware of being observed.

Label TextLucas Cranach the Younger German, 1515–1586 Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery, after 1537 Oil on wood By packing people together against a flat black backdrop, this painting makes its message of divine forgiveness as direct as possible. The scene depicts the story’s climax, when Christ defends an adulteress before an angry mob that wants to stone her to death for her sins. Christ deflates the mob with his compassionate, clever response: “Let any of you who is without sin cast the first stone.” To ensure viewers got the moral punch line, the artist inscribed it in German at the painting’s upper edge. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.484