The Woman Taken in Adultery (Rembrandt)

The Woman Taken in Adultery, by Rembrandt

The Woman Taken in Adultery is a painting of 1644 by Rembrandt, bought by the National Gallery, London in 1824, as one of their foundation batch of paintings. It is in oil on oak, and 83.8 x 65.4 cm.^[1]

Rembrandt shows the episode of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery from the Gospel of Saint John. In this scene, a few Jews, mainly Scribes and Pharisees, tried to catch Jesus condoning disobedience to the Jewish Law, knowing that Jesus pitied wrong-doers. To do this, they produced a woman who had been caught taking part in adultery. Then, they said "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?" Jesus replied, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her" (John 8: 3-7).

Rembrandt made Jesus appear taller than the other figures and more brightly lit. In contrast, the Jews are "in the dark" and appear lower. Symbolically, Jesus's height represents his moral superiority over those who attempted to trick him.

References

Rembrandt
List of works: drawings, prints/etchings, and paintings (including self-portraits)
Paintings	The Raising of Lazarus The Senses (1624–25) The Stoning of Saint Stephen (1625) History Painting (1626) Balaam and the Ass (1626) The Baptism of the Eunuch (1626) The Artist in his Studio (1628) Self-Portrait (1629) Andromeda Chained to the Rocks (1631) The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1631) Old Man with a Gold Chain (c. 1631) Jacob de Gheyn III (1632) Philosopher in Meditation (1632) The Abduction of Europa (1632) Portrait of a Man Rising from His Chair (1633) The Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633) 2 Descent from the Cross (1633) Joseph and Potiphar's Wife (1634) Diana Bathing with her Nymphs with Actaeon and Callisto (1634) Flora (1634) Artemisia (1634) Pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit (1634) Descent from the Cross (1634) Self-Portrait Wearing a White Feathered Bonnet (1635) Belshazzar's Feast (1635) The Prodigal Son in the Brothel (c. 1635) The Abduction of Ganymede (1635) Danaë (1636) The Blinding of Samson (1636) A Polish Nobleman (1637) The Stone Bridge (1637) Portrait of Maria Trip (1639) The Night Watch (1642) Boaz and Ruth (1643) The Woman Taken in Adultery (1644) The Mill (1645–48) The Holy Family with Angels (1645) Susanna and the Elders (1647) Head of Christ (1648) The Kitchen Maid (1651) Descent from the Cross (1650–52) Self-Portrait (1652) Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (1653) Bathsheba at Her Bath (1654) Virgin and Child with a Cat (1654) Portrait of Jan Six (1654) The Polish Rider (1655) 1 The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Deijman (1656) Portrait of Catharina Hooghsaet (1657) Portrait of a Foreign Admiral (1658) Self-Portrait (1658) Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law (1659) Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar (1659) Self-Portrait (1660) Ahasuerus and Haman at the Feast of Esther (1660) The Denial of Saint Peter (1660) Titus as a Monk (1660) The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis (1661) St. Matthew and the Angel (1661) Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul (1662) Portrait of Dirck van Os (circa 1662) Self-Portrait as Zeuxis Laughing (1662) Syndics of the Drapers' Guild (1662) The Jewish Bride (1664) Lucretia (1664) Self-Portrait with Two Circles (1665–69) The Return of the Prodigal Son (1662–69) Lucretia (1666)
Drawings, prints, and etchings	Goldweigher's Field Hundred Guilder Print Joseph and Potiphar's Wife The Three Crosses Virgin and Child with a Cat
Catalogs raisonné	1908 1935 1968 1986 2014
Other	Dutch Golden Age painting (Dutch Masters) Dutch School (painting) Rembrandt lighting Tronie Naturalism (art) Old master print Flemish Baroque painting Caravaggisti Chiaroscuro
Scholarship	Rembrandt Research Project Samuel van Hoogstraten Joachim von Sandrart Arnold Houbraken Otto Benesch Cornelis Hofstede de Groot Julius Held Nigel Konstam Simon Schama Gary Schwartz Seymour Slive Wilhelm Valentiner Ernst van de Wetering Wilhelm von Bode
Related	Saskia van Uylenburgh (wife) Titus van Rijn (son) Geertje Dircx Hendrickje Stoffels Jacob Isaacsz. van Swanenburg Pieter Lastman Jan Lievens Constantijn Huygens Hendrick van Uylenburgh Jan Six Pupils and followers
Public collections	Rembrandt House Museum Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Mauritshuis Kupferstichkabinett Berlin British Museum Metropolitan Museum of Art Frick Collection
Exhibitions	Rembrandt: ein Genie auf der Suche / Rembrandt: The Quest of a Genius Rembrandt in Southern California Rembrandt: The Late Works (National Gallery London)
Wikimedia	Rembrandt at Wikiquote Rembrandt at Wikimedia Commons
Cultural depictions and portrayals	Rembrandt (1936 film) Rembrandt (1940 film) Rembrandt (1942 film) Rembrandt: A Self-Portrait (1954 documentary film) The Anatomy Lesson (1995 novel) Rembrandt's Whore (2003 novel) Stealing Rembrandt (2003 film) Nightwatching (2007 film) Rembrandt's J'Accuse (2008 documentary) I Am Rembrandt's Daughter (2008 novel) The Rembrandt Affair (2010 novel) The Anatomy Lesson (2014 novel) Rembrandt's Mirror (2015 novel)
Recognitions	Rembrandtplein Rembrandt (crater) Rembrandt (train)
1 Contested 2 Long-lost