Painting and Sculpture

Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery (Polenov)

Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery (He That Is Without Sin?) (Russian: «Христо́с и гре́шница» («Кто без греха́?»)) is a large oil painting by the Russian artist Vasily Polenov (1844–1927), dated 1888. The painting is now in the State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg (Inventory Zh-4204). Measuring 325 × 611 cm, it depicts the story of Christ and the woman taken in adultery, described in the Gospel of John. The painting was conceived by the artist in the late 1860s, with the first sketches appearing in the early 1870s. Some fifteen years passed before the final version of the canvas was completed. While working on the painting, Polenov travelled to the Middle East (1881–1882) and Italy (1883–1884). The canvas was presented at the 15th Exhibition of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions (Peredvizhniki), which opened in Saint Petersburg on 25 February 1887. At the exhibition, the painting was purchased by Tsar Alexander III. The painting was then kept in the Winter Palace, and when the Russian Museum was founded, it became part of its collection in 1897. On the one hand, the painting is seen as an attempt at a realistic interpretation of the image of Christ and the Gospel story. On the other hand, art historians have also identified the influence of late academicism on the painting, noting that among the attempts to revive large-format academic historical painting, "Polenov's painting is the most significant and serious".

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See also

• ▸Gustav Klimt
• ▸Actors of the Comédie-Française
• ▸Butterflies (Van Gogh series)

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