The panel in Kassel depicts Lucretia as a three-quarter length figure in contemporary dress sitting in front of a landscape. Her head is inclined slightly to the left and she stares into the far distance. Her hands hold the dagger in her lap, and it is pointed towards her breast.
The panel in Kassel depicts Lucretia as a three-quarter length figure in contemporary dress sitting in front of a landscape. Her head is inclined slightly to the left and she stares into the far distance. Her hands hold the dagger in her lap, and it is pointed towards her breast.
Lucretia wears a dark, contemporary dress. The sleeves are stepped and have decorative slits. She wears a white undergarment that billows out above the elbow, and has slipped off her shoulder to reveal her breast. She is framed by a red fur-lined overcoat, which is draped over her left shoulder, falls down her back and emerges on the right to cover her lap. Her blond hair is pinned up artistically and decorated with pearls. Around her neck she wears a heavy chain, a delicate gold necklace and a chain with pearls and precious stones with a renaissance pendant. The precious jewellery is contrasted by the simplicity of the long dagger.
There is a mountainous landscape with a castle in the background.
[see Cat. Kassel 1997, 65-68]
According to the legend Lucretia lived in the 6th century BC and was the beautiful and virtuous wife of the roman Collatinus. The roman King's son - Sextus Tarquinius fell in love with her. During a stay in her house Sextus threatened to kill her and shame her honour if she did not surrender to him. After the rape Lucretia had her father and husband vow vengeance and then she stabbed herself. The event led to an uprising in which the royal family was overthrown and the Roman Empire became a Republic.
Depictions of Lucretia who was seen as the epitomy of female virtue, chastity, fidelity and honour enjoyed great popularity, particularly in the 16th century.
[Literature: Bierende 2002, Follak 2002, Livius 1909]
- Attributions
-
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Attributions
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder | [Cat. Cassel 1997, 65-68] |
Lucas Cranach the Elder | [Exhib. Cat. Gotha 2015, No. 67] [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 95, No. 122] |
- Production dates
- about 1518
1525-30
Production dates
about 1518 | [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 95, No. 122] |
1525-30 | [Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, 322, No. 100] |
- Dimensions
- Dimensions of support: 41.6 x 28.3 cm
Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 41.6 x 28.3 cm
[Cat. Kassel 1997, 65-68]
- Signature / Dating
None
- Inscriptions and Labels
Reverse of the panel: - inscription in green chalk: 'Lucas Cranach proviend de la famille de Sanrart d'Augsburg'
- a seal …
Inscriptions and Labels
Stamps, Seals, Labels:
Reverse of the panel: - inscription in green chalk: 'Lucas Cranach proviend de la famille de Sanrart d'Augsburg'
- a seal with a coat-of-arms in red sealing wax: a man with raised arms, holding something in his hand; a helmet with a crest of three ostrich feathers
- a seal with a coat-of-arms in black sealing wax: two shields next to each other, probably a matrimonial coat-of-arms, on the left one a series of antlers
- label: Staatlichen Museen Kassel, 20th century
- exhibition label: 'Cranach exhibition 1937, Deutsches Museum, Berlin'
[Cat. Kassel 1997, 65-68]
- Owner
- Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel
- Repository
- Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel
- Location
- Kassel
- CDA ID
- DE_MHK_GK14
- FR (1978) Nr.
- FR122
- Persistent Link
- https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MHK_GK14/
- a seal …