Article January 25, 1999 Issue

Sin is not a pretty picture

From wrongdoing to reformation—and peace

By Barbara Beattie Wyly

A painting by Rubens depicts the Bible story of the Pharisees bringing to Jesus the woman caught in the act of adultery and seeking his endorsement to stone her (see John 8:3–11). Jesus answers them by saying, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

The painting is magnificent. Rubens, a great master of his craft, has captured the Pharisees' trickery, the woman's fear, and Jesus' calm, unmovable authority. However, this painting is, to me, more disturbing than beautiful, since the mood is dark and forbidding and the characters seem stuck at the point of sin and accusation.

I wish Rubens had chosen instead to capture the next moment in the story. When Jesus saw that everyone had left, he said, "Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?"

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