Charity

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Messling, Exhib. Cat. Brussels, Paris 2010/11, 232, no. 150]

Charity - the personification of benevolence- is depicted as a woman breast-feeding an infant. She is embraced by another child. A young boy sits on the ground in front of her and touches her leg. She sits on a stone block beneath an apple tree. A section of a mountainous

[Herrschaft, cda 2015]

Attribution: Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, online database, accessed 19.11.2021] [Messling, Exhib. Cat. Brussels/Paris 2010/11, 232, no. 150]

Production dates: about 1540
1540

Production dates

about 1540	[Messling, Exhib. Cat. Brussels/Paris 2010/11, 232, No. 150]
1540	[Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, online database, accessed 19.11.2021]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 50 x 34 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 50 x 34 cm
[Messling, Exhib. Cat. Brussels, Paris 2010/11, 232, no. 150]

Signature / Dating: Artist's insignia at the left on the tree trunk: winged serpent with dropped wings, facing right; in black paint

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the left on the tree trunk: winged serpent with dropped wings, facing right; in black paint

Owner: Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp
Repository: Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp
Location: Antwerp

CDA ID: BE_KMSKA_43
FR (1978) Nr.: FR406A
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/BE_KMSKA_43/

Provenance

Tiberghien Collection, Brussels
1841 bequest from van Ertborn to the Koninklijk Museum

[Messling, Exhib. Cat. Brussels/Paris 2010/11, 232, no. 150]

Exhibitions

Brussels, Paris 2010/2011, no. 150

Literature

Reference on page

Catalogue Number

Figure / Plate

Exhib. Cat. Paris 2011

232

150

Editor	Guido Messling
Title	Cranach et son temps [Paris, Musée du Luxembourg]
Place of Publication	Paris
Year of Publication	2011

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Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010

232

150

p. 232

Editor	Bozarbooks & Lannoo, Guido Messling
Title	Die Welt des Lucas Cranach. Ein Künstler im Zeitalter von Dürer, Tizian und Metsys [anlässlich der Ausstellung "Die Welt des Lucas Cranach", Palast der Schönen Künste, Brüssel, 20. Oktober 2010 - 23. Januar 2011]
Place of Publication	Brussels
Year of Publication	2010

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Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979

152

No. 406A

Author	Max J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
Editor	G. Schwartz
Title	Die Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of Publication	Basel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication	1979

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Cat. Antwerp 1957

Editor	Walther Vanbeselaere
Title	Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts Anvers. Catalogue descriptif. Maitres anciens
Place of Publication	Antwerp
Year of Publication	1957

Show Literature

Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932

326A

Author	Max J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
Title	Die Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of Publication	Berlin
Year of Publication	1932
Link	http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932

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Glaser 1923

233

Author	Curt Glaser
Title	Lukas Cranach
Place of Publication	Leipzig
Year of Publication	1923
Link	http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/glaser1923

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Research History / Discussion

'From 1529 onwards depictions of Charity on her own appeared amongst Cranach’s works. In these paintings Cranach isolated (and monumentalized) a subject, which before was usually integrated into a series of virtues and vices. Cranach was also an innovator in that his Charity allegories were more or less nude figures, since the transparent veil offered nothing more than a symbolic fig leaf and at the same time helped to heighten the visual pleasure.'

[Messling, Exhib. Cat. Brussels, Paris 2010/11, 232, no. 150]

Charity, about 1540

Images

Technical studies

10. 2010Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Infrared reflectography

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid, black medium and brush; in combination with dark chalk

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing?

- thin lines

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe the essential details; representation of volume?

Deviations:

- minor alterations made during the painting process to clearly define form; small changes (e.g. ear of the child breast feeding)

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- workshop

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2012]

photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'Charity', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/BE_KMSKA_43/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'Charity', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/BE_KMSKA_43/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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