[11] In 1870, Henryk Siemiadzki graduated from the St Petersburg Academy of Arts and was awarded the title of class artist of the first degree and a big gold medal for his painting Alexander the Great's trust in Doctor Philip, which was entered in the competition.

[21] In a letter dated 31 March 1873 Vera Nikolaevna Voeikov, Polenov's grandmother, informed her grandson from St Petersburg: "We had your friend Siemiradzki, who liked you very much and praised your talent and your sketches in Rome, as well as the painting you started.

[25] In the process of creating The Sinner, Siemiradzki employed the latest achievements of photography, with images taken at his request by professional photographer Michele Mang [de].

The collection of the National Museum in Kraków contains photographic documentation of sitters and mannequins in their respective poses and attire, which were employed to create the various characters depicted in the painting, including the protagonists, Jesus Christ and the Sinner.

[31] Of the numerous paintings exhibited at the event, three, in particular, attracted considerable attention: Barge Haulers on the Volga by Ilya Repin, Jesters at the Court of Empress Anna by Valery Jacobi and Crist and Sinner.

[33] Painter Ivan Kramskoi wrote that Siemiradzki's painting "makes an overwhelming impression, for a long time you cannot control your mind", although, according to him, "Christ with the apostles is somewhat paltry".

[35] Despite the criticism, both the commissioner, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, and the conference secretary of the Academy of Arts, Pyotr Iseyev, expressed a high level of appreciation for the painting Christ and Sinner.

He described it as a "very talented and piquant study of the influence of the effects of sunlight on architecture and people," although, in his words, "it is somewhat difficult to understand why Christ should serve as a model for such experiments.

"[39] In a guide to the art section of the Vienna exhibition, journalist Ernst Lehmann wrote that Siemiradzki, "still a young Russian artist, presented in his 'Sinner' a work that shows us a great colourist; moreover, his way of treating biblical material is in every respect new and perhaps the only one suitable in our time for religious paintings".

[38][40] However, translating these reviews from German, Siemiradzki's opponent Vladimir Stasov wryly remarked that in both Vienna and Russia, Christ and Sinner was "very much liked by people with less sense and almost not at all liked by those who are more artistically advanced and whose taste is more educated".

In addition to the aforementioned painting, the exhibition also included four other works by Siemiradzki: Alexander the Great's Trust in Doctor Philip (1870), Dance among Swords (1881), Orgy in the reign of Tiberius on the island of Capri (1881) and Nero's Torches (1882, a smaller version of the large canvas of 1876).

[48] In 2014, the artist-restorers of the State Russian Museum, Irina Kornyakova and Natalia Romanova, conducted research and restoration of the painting Christ and Sinner.

[53] Siemiradzki's interpretation of the story differs significantly from the traditional Gospel version, in which a woman caught in adultery was forcibly brought to Christ by Pharisees and Sadducees.

[54] In contrast to the Gospel, Siemiradzki's treatment of the theme is similar in its description to the motifs of Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy's then popular poem The Sinner.

[4] Apparently, this version, which symbolises the moral victory of Christianity over paganism, was suggested to the artist by the canvas's customer, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich.

Without intending to collect material in Palestine, the artist believed that his own imagination would assist him, as well as the bright light of the Italian sun, which would "saturate the space, pick out some figures from it and cover others".

[6] The French philosopher and writer Ernest Renan's book Life of Jesus, which emphasised Christ's humanity and, in particular, discussed his relationship with women, may also have had some influence on the interpretation of the plot of The Sinner.

[5] In contrast, the right side of the canvas portrays a sinful courtesan in a smart silk garment with a lot of jewellery; behind her is a retinue of merry and tipsy men and women.

It is likely that the tree was the subject of Siemiradzki's attention during the period in which he created the landscape Road from Rome to Albano (canvas, oil, 78 × 62 cm, 1870s, Tver Regional Art Gallery).

[63] In the poem The Sinner, Aleksey Tolstoy described the "young harlot" as follows: "Her fanciful attire / Involuntarily attracts the eye, / Her immodest garments / Speak of a sinful life; / But the fallen maiden is beautiful..." (Russian: «Её причудливый наряд / Невольно привлекает взоры, / Её нескромные уборы / О грешной жизни говорят; / Но дева падшая прекрасна…»).

[61] Under Christ's gaze, the sinner feels a sense of shame that she had long forgotten, and drops the goblet of wine, which falls to the ground in front of her.

The National Museum in Kraków houses the artist's sketchbook, which includes 32 sketches for the painting Christ and Sinner,[67] along with other prepatory materials (the following inventory numbers are referenced: MNK III-r.a. 18401, 18402 and 17323).

[86][70]The Rybinsk State Historical-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve possesses the artist's replica of Christ and Sinner, executed in sepia on paper (61 × 132 cm)[87] and dated 1873[88][89] or 1874.

[91][92] Another author's repetition of the painting Christ and Sinner (canvas, oil, 145 × 240 cm), was discovered in the early 21st century in a private collection in Zurich.

[10] In a letter to the landscape painter Fyodor Vasilyev dated 10 April 1873, the artist Ivan Kramskoi described the impression made on him by Siemiradzki's Christ and Sinner.

[94] Art historian Pavel Klimov noted that the Peredvizhniki, of which Kramskoy was a member, were disinclined to accept the emergence of a figure as prominent and influential as Siemiradzki within the academic community.

from the opponents' point of view, the success of Christ and Sinner "testified to the vitality of academism, which they had repeatedly ridiculed and scorned," and which, in their opinion, was soon to be rejected by viewers, customers and collectors alike.

According to Klimov, this attitude led to Siemiradzki being regarded by the Peredvizhniki at the very beginning of his career "as the striking force of the Academy and the main rival with whom an uncompromising struggle should be waged.

As Karpova observed, the combination of plein air painting and the Gospel narrative created "an impression of illusion, authenticity, reality of legendary events".

This approach was in line with the prevailing trend of biblical studies at the time (Ernest Renan and others), which sought to treat Jesus Christ as a real historical figure.