Francesco Salvator Fontebasso, 1707 Venedig –... Lot n° 278

CHRIST AND THE WIFE Oil on canvas. 97 x 114 cm. In partially gilded frame. The pericope about Christ and the adulteress is in verse 7,53-8,11 of the Gospel of John. It describes the confrontation between Christ and the scribes and Pharisees on the question of whether a woman who has just been caught in adultery must be stoned. The painting shows Jesus in the temple, around him the scribes and the Pharisees, who have brought to him on the left the adulteress dressed in a red robe with a golden cloth. She has her hands tied behind her back and her head penitently bowed to the ground. Behind her standing soldiers in armor and with high lances. Christ is asked what to do by one of the Pharisees, who points to the woman with outstretched hands. Christ, dressed in red robe and blue shining cloak, has bent down and points out what he has written on the ground. Finally he speaks to them the famous words "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw the stone at her". This dramatic momentennt is the subject of the representation. As a repoussoir, the painter has placed on the left edge a boy with a dog and on the lower right edge, in front of a stone parapet, a girl, also playing with a dog. Through the high arches of the architecture of the temple the view falls on a light blue sky with other buildings. Figure-rich depiction with animated gestures and fine lighting, highlighting in particular Christ in the center and the adulteress. Minimal retouching. Literature: The Friends of the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum and the Museum Ludwig e.V. (Eds.), Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte, vol. 78, Cologne 2017, p. 253, fig. 21. (1302011) (18) Francesco Salvator Fontebasso, 1707 Venice - 1769 ibid. CHRIST AND THE ADULTERESSOil on canvas. 97 x 114 cm. Literature: Die Freunde des Wallraf-Richartz-Museum und des Museum Ludwig e.V., Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch für Kunsgeschichte, vol. 78, Cologne 2017, p. 253, ill. 21.