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Research dossier · Arts & Letters

Christ and the Penitent Sinners

painting by Peter Paul Rubens

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 12, 2026
Entity authorityQ3697599 ↗
Source-derived summary

Christ and the Penitent Sinners or Christ with the four great penitents is an oil on canvas painting by Peter Paul Rubens, executed in 1617. It is now in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.

The painting depicts Jesus Christ with an adoring Mary Magdalene, Saint Peter (who denied Christ three times), Dismas (the penitent thief from the Crucifixion) and King David (who committed adultery with Bathsheba).

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Christ and the Penitent Sinners” as painting by Peter Paul Rubens. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Christ, Penitent and Sinners.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1617—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1617-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Christ, Penitent and Sinners providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Christ and the Penitent Sinners”, the useful work is to connect “painting by Peter Paul Rubens” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3697599. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1617.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Christ and the Penitent Sinners”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Christ and the Penitent Sinners primary sources, Christ and the Penitent Sinners archive and Christ research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Christ and the Penitent Sinners”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Christ and the Penitent Sinners” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.