Polenov Vasily – Christ and the Sinner

An amazing painting. In the image of Christ, theres more humanity than divinity; he looks so sad and tired... But that actually adds to his greatness.

This painting is not housed in any museum; rather, it is kept in the Polenov House-Museum, located in the Tula region. Yes, thats where the painting remains, as Polenov never finished it. He didnt have time to complete the work, even though he had dreamed of painting it since his youth. The painting itself is quite large and is stored on the second floor of his estate, which was converted into a house-museum during the Soviet era.

He left many things unfinished, although for this particular painting, he created numerous sketches and studies using both paints and pencils. He sought the perfect representation of this scene. Furthermore, Polenov traveled extensively throughout what is now Israel, discovering many interesting things that he sketched. As a result, he gathered enough material to begin working on the painting.

Its worth noting that Christ is depicted differently in this work. Polenov did not set out to portray a divine figure. Instead, the painting depicts more of a shepherd, a semi-pauperized man, rather than the Messiah everyone was expecting. He is shown surrounded by his disciples at the very moment when Pharisees brought a repentant woman, Mary Magdalene, to him. Remember this story? It was during this time that the Pharisees asked if this woman deserved to be stoned, and Jesus responded: Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her. This response dampened the Pharisees fervor, forcing them to retreat. The painting depicts the scene just before all of this. Christ has only just seen the repentant woman; she has only just been brought before him. A crowd behind her is already ready to stone her, which was how adulteresses were dealt with. But he protected her; he prevented them from harming her. He responded in such a way that the Pharisees could not reply.

Despite its apparent completion, the work remained unfinished. Thats why it stayed in his house. He didnt have time to finish painting the landscape around the figures, nor did he complete the details of the figures themselves. Even Christs appearance is incomplete. Interestingly, if you look closely, Jesus stands out sharply from his disciples, despite being depicted alongside them. The disciples are almost as if in shadow. Similarly, two other figures stand out: a Pharisee and the repentant woman.

Polenov did exhibit the painting at the Wanderers Exhibition in 1887, but censorship prevented it from being shown publicly. Furthermore, one of the grand princes even stated that the painting was harmful to the people. The situation was resolved by Emperor Alexander III, who became acquainted with the work and allowed the painting to be exhibited. Moreover, he offered the artist money to purchase the painting itself. Polenov sold him a copy, while the original, as you know, remained...

I wonder whats in the Russian Museum of Saint Petersburg?

I like this painting. The plot is interesting, and the lighting and composition of the figures in the painting are appealing.

Yesterday I returned from Polenovo. In the artists house, there is a black and white version of the painting, made with charcoal on canvas, while the Emperor bought the colored version. The money earned from selling the painting allowed the artist to buy a plot of land and build a house.

Another option is in Irkutsk.