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Christ and the Woman taken in Adultery

Maker

(Artists)
1525-1569

Title

Date of Production

1565

Medium

oil on panel

Dimensions

Height: 24.1 cm (panel)
Width: 34.4 cm (panel)

Accession Number

P.1978.PG.48

Mode of Acquisition

Count Antoine Seilern, bequest, 1978

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

On display

Keywords

Label Text

On the steps of the Temple of Jerusalem, Christ stops the execution of a woman condemned to death by stoning for adultery. He writes in the dust (in Dutch): ‘He who is without sin, let him [cast the first stone].’ The scene can be read as a plea for tolerance during a time of political and religious upheaval in the Low Countries (now Belgium), where Pieter Bruegel lived. Bruegel painted this work using only shades of grey, a technique known as ‘grisaille’. The limited palette showed off the artist’s skill. Here, Bruegel creates a crowd with a few deft strokes of grey paint and white highlights. The subdued colours also encouraged quiet contemplation. Such works were highly prized among Bruegel’s friends and collectors.

Provenance

Inherited from the artist by Jan Brueghel the Elder; bequeathed by him to Cardinal Federico Borromeo, Milan, 1625; returned by Borromeo to Jan Brueghel the Younger, Antwerp; Peeter Stevens, Antwerp; his sale, Antwerp, 13 August 1668, lot 14; Henri van Halmale, Bishop of Ypres (1625-1676); Robert Hampden-Trevor, 1st Viscount Hampden (1706-1783); by descent to Jane-Maria, Viscountess Hampden (d. 1833); her sale, Christie's, London, 19 April 1834, lot 61; acquired by Alexander Hope, Luffness (Scotland); by descent until sale of Major Alexander P.J. Hope, Christie's, London, 1 February 1952, lot 60; acquired at the sale by by Dr Alfred Scharf 'acting on behalf of a friend on the Continent'; Count Antoine Seilern, London; bequeathed by him to the Home House Trust (later Samuel Courtauld Trust) as part of the Princes Gate Bequest, 1978; stolen from gallery at Woburn Square, 1982; recovered, 1992

Exhibition History

Sin, National Gallery, London, 06/10/2020-03/01/2021

The Courtauld at the National Gallery, National Gallery, London, 27/03/2019-05/08/2019

Bruegel in Black and White: Three Grisailles Reunited, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 04/02/2016-08/05/2016 ...More

National Gallery (to be displayed with permanent collection), National Gallery, London, 01/09/1997-01/06/1998

Bruegel et son monde, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts/Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten, Brussels, 20/08/1969-16/11/1969 ...Less

Literature

Stechow, Wolfgang, Pieter Bruegel The Elder, London 1990 (concise edition of 1970 publication)
p. 18
Fig. p. fig. 9 on p. 19

Inscriptions

Inscription: inscription : : lower left corner within image : : BRVEGEL.M.D.LXV

Inscription: inscription : : within image, foreground by Christ's hand : : DIE SONDER SONDE IS / DIE [Flemish text, John, VII, 7 'He that is without sin among you, let him (first cast a stone at her')]

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