Portrait of a Woman

Portrait of a Woman

Titles

Portrait of a Woman

[http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=45887] (accessed 08.02.2013)

Portrait of Anna von Mochau

[Zorzin 2013, 9-15]

Painting on beech wood

Medium

Painting on beech wood

[Klein, Report 1994]
[Hand, Cat. Washington 1993, 40]

'Set against bright green backgrounds, this unidentified young couple is dressed in clothing of understated elegance and severity. [...] The woman wears an elaborate black hat with what appears to be an enamel pin attached at the top. The colour combination of her dress is the same as her husband's,

'Set against bright green backgrounds, this unidentified young couple is dressed in clothing of understated elegance and severity. [...] The woman wears an elaborate black hat with what appears to be an enamel pin attached at the top. The colour combination of her dress is the same as her husband's, but reversed; the bodice is black and the sleeves are brown. Notes of brighter colour are provided by the red belt and band of embroidered fabric beneath it. The costumes suggest that the man and woman are either patricians or members of the wealthy middle class. [...] There is a clear physical disparity between the two figures, which has the effect of affirming the dominance of the man. [...] The woman is smaller and more slender, and her pale ivory complexion contrasts with the ruddier skin tones of her husband. By eliminating the hands and reducing the details of the costumes, the artist has focused the viewer's attention on the sitters' faces, which are sensitively delineated and thinly but subtly modeled.'

[Hand, Cat. Washington 1993, 41]

[...] The opposing turn of their heads indicates that he occupied the place of honor on the left side. It is likely that the portraits were intended to flank a window: notice how the shadows are cast in opposite directions and how the reflections of window panes can be seen in their eyes.

[http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=45887] (accessed 08.02.2013)

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=45887] (accessed 08.02.2013)

Production date
1522

Production date

1522

[Pendant dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 58.7 x 40.5 cm (23 1/8 x 15 15/16 in.)

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 58.7 x 40.5 cm (23 1/8 x 15 15/16 in.)

  • Dimensions of painted surface: 58 x 39.8 cm (22 13/16 x 15 11/16 in.)

  • [http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=45887] (accessed 08.02.2013)

Signature / Dating

Pendant signed and dated '1522'

Signature / Dating

  • Pendant signed and dated '1522'

  • [cda 2013]

Owner
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.
Repository
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.
Location
Washington
CDA ID
US_NGA_1959-9-2
FR (1978) Nr.
FR146
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/US_NGA_1959-9-2/

Connected Works

Portrait of a Man
  • Portrait of a Man, 1522
  • US_NGA_1959-9-1
  • Painting
  • National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.

Provenance

  • Dr. Friedrich Campe [1777-1846], Nuremberg, by 1844 [1]
  • Bernhard von Lindenau, Altenburg; by inheritance to his niece, Mrs. von Watzdorf-Bachoff, Altenburg [2]
  • (Paul Cassirer, Berlin, by 1921) [3]
  • Private collection, possibly von der Heydt.[4]
  • August and Serena Lederer, Vienna, possibly by 1923, but certainly before 1932 [5]
  • Lederer family; sold by 1954 to (Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc., New York)
  • purchased January 1954 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York [6]
  • gift 1959 to NGA

[1] The 1995 NGA systematic catalogue entry on the painting stated that it was only possibly owned by Dr. Campe. Although Joseph Heller, Das Leben und die Werke Lucas Cranach's (Bamberg, 1844), 89, lists 'Ein männliches und ein weibliches Brustbild, bezeichnet mit 1522 und der Schlange' as belonging to the art and book dealer Dr. Friedrich Campe of Nuremberg, the painting is not mentioned in other descriptions of the collection, such as Ritter C. Heideloff, Verzeichniss der Friedrich Campe'schen Sammlung von Oelgemälden und geschmeltzen Glasmalereien, (Nuremberg, 1847). However, correspondence from Dr. Dieter Gleisberg (letters of 27 July and 1 November 1999, in NGA curatorial files) does confirm Campe's ownership and provides his life dates.
[2] H.-C. v.d. Gabelentz, Director, Staatliche Lindenau Museum, Altenburg, letter of 19 July 1968 to Dr. Ilse Franke, Munich, in curatorial files. As Gabelentz notes in his letter, Bernhard von Lindenau ordered all his papers destroyed after his death, so it is not possible to determine, for example, when he acquired the painting.
[3] Karl Scheffler. "Kunstausstellungen." Kunst und Künstler 19 (1921), 298, cites the painting as being with Cassirer. Gabelentz, letter of 19 July 1968 cited above, says that Mrs. von Watzdorf-Bachoff sold the portrait to Cassirer.
[4] Not verified. Gabelentz, letter of 19 July 1968, cited in note 2, states that the portrait was in the von der Heydt collection, but it has not been possible to locate it in any catalogues associated with the name von der Heydt.
[5] Curt Glaser. Lukas Cranach. (Leipzig, 1923), 179, reproduces the portrait as being in a private collection, Vienna; this is not included in the 1921 edition. Scheffler 1921, 298, reports only that the portrait went from Cassirer into a private collection and so it is possible, although not verified, that Lederer owned it as early as 1921. [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932, 53-54, Nos. 123-124] ([Friedländer, Rosenberg 1978, 99, Nos. 145-146]), are the first to mention Lederer as owner.
This painting was confiscated by the Nazis in 1938 with others in the Lederer collection. It was discovered in 1945 by US forces at the abbey in Kremsmünster and transferred to the salt mine at Alt Aussee. By August 1947 it was transferred to the control of the Bundesdenkmalamt, Vienna. [Receipt for objects of Austrian origin, dated 14 July 1947, item no. 841, National Archives RG 260/USACA/Box 1, copy in NGA curatorial files.] According to a letter dated 10 April 1987 from Gerald G. Stiebel to John Hand, in NGA curatorial files, this and 1959.9.2 were acquired from the Lederer family by the firm of Rosenberg & Stiebel, who sold the paintings to the Kress Foundation in 1954.
[6] Invoice of 29 January 1954 and letter of 30 January 1954 from Saemy Rosenberg to John Walker, in NGA curatorial files.

[http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=45887&detail=prov] (accessed 008.02.2012)

Exhibitions

Berlin 1921
Kronach 1994, No. 158

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Price 2017 16
AuthorDavid H. Price
TitleLucas Cranach e la Riforma
Publicationin Francesca de Luca, Giovanni Maria Fara, eds., I volti della Riforma. Lutero e Cranach nelle collezioni medicee , Exhib. Cat. Florence, 2017
Place of PublicationFlorence, Milan
Year of Publication2017
Pages12-27
Show Literature
Müller 2015 268, Fn. 11
AuthorMatthias Müller
TitleWiederkehr der Mimesis. Die höfische Porträtmalerei Lucas Cranachs des Jüngeren nach 1550 als paradigmatische Neuausrichtung des 'Cranach-Stils'
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages266-279
Show Literature
Zorzin 2013 8-15 5
AuthorAlejandro Zorzin
TitleEin Cranach-Porträt des Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt
JournalTheologische Zeitschrift
Issue70
Year of Publication2013
Pages4-24
Show Literature
Müller 2010 66
AuthorMatthias Müller
Title"Menschen so zu malen, daß sie erkannt werden und zu leben scheinen" Naturnachahmung als Problem in Lucas Cranachs höfischer Porträtmalerei
Publicationin Matthias Müller, ed., Apelles am Fürstenhof. Facetten der Hofkunst um 1500 im Alten Reich Exhib. Cat. Coburg 2010
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication2010
Pages57-73
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007 261-263 71 p. 263
EditorBodo Brinkmann
TitleCranach der Ältere, [Frankfurt, Städel Museum, 23 Nov 2007 - 17 Feb 2008]
Place of PublicationOstfildern
Year of Publication2007
Show Literature
Proske 2007 31 Fig. 20
AuthorMirela Proske
TitleLucas Cranach the Elder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2007
Show Literature
Marx 2005 109
AuthorHarald Marx
TitleDresden als Cranach-Palast und der 'moderne' Cranach
Publicationin Harald Marx, Ingrid Mössinger, Karin Kolb, ed., Cranach. Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Pages88-111
Show Literature
Hand 2004 134-135 No. 102 Fig.
AuthorJohn Oliver Hand
TitleNational Gallery of Art. Master Paintings from the Collection.
Place of PublicationWashington, New York
Year of Publication2004
Show Literature
Löcher 1995 A 15
AuthorKurt Löcher
TitleReview of 'German Paintings of the Fifteenth through Seventeenth Centuries', by John Oliver Hand with the assistance of Sally E. Mansfield
JournalKunstchronik
Issue43/1 (January 1995)
Year of Publication1995
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Kronach 1994 335-338, 371 158 Fig. 158
EditorClaus Grimm, Johannes Erichsen, Evamaria Brockhoff
TitleLucas Cranach. Ein Maler-Unternehmer aus Franken [Festung Rosenberg, Kronach 17.05 - 21.08.1994; Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig 07.09 - 06.11.1994]
SeriesVeröffentlichungen zur bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur
Volume26
Place of PublicationAugsburg, Coburg
Year of Publication1994
Show Literature
Grimm 1994 24, 26-28, 31
AuthorClaus Grimm
TitleLucas Cranach 1994
Publicationin Claus Grimm, Johannes Erichsen, Evamaria Brockhoff, eds., Lucas Cranach. Ein Maler-Unternehmer aus Franken, Exhib. Cat. Kronach 1994
SeriesVeröffentlichungen zur bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur
Volume26
Place of PublicationAugsburg, Regensburg
Year of Publication1994
Pages18-43
Show Literature
Cat. Washington 1993 40-44 Fig. p. 43
AuthorJohn Oliver Hand, Sally E. Mansfield
TitleGerman Paintings of the Fifteenth through Seventeenth Centuries
Place of PublicationWashington
Year of Publication1993
Show Literature
Cat. Washington 1985 105 Fig.
TitleEuropean Paintings. An Illustrated Catalogue
Place of PublicationWashington
Year of Publication1985
Show Literature
Cat. Washington 1984 165 No. 179 Fig.
AuthorJohn Walker
TitleNational Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Place of PublicationNew York
Year of Publication1984
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 No. 146
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Eisler 1977 23-24 Fig. 25
AuthorColin T. Eisler
TitlePaintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. European Schools Excluding Italian.
Place of PublicationOxford
Year of Publication1977
Show Literature
CDA.Cat. Washington 1975 A 165 No. 185 Fig. p. 164
AuthorJohn Walker
TitleNational Gallery of Art, Washington
Place of PublicationNew York
Year of Publication1975
Show Literature
CDA.Cat. Washington 1975 B 86 Fig.
Authorn. a.
TitleEuropean Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue
Place of PublicationWashington
Year of Publication1975
Show Literature
Cinotti 1975 No. 95 Fig.
EditorMia Cinotti
TitleThe National Gallery of Art of Washington and Its Paintings. Great Galleries of the World
Place of PublicationEdinburgh
Year of Publication1975
Show Literature
Bialostocki 1970 175, Fn. 19
AuthorJan Bialostocki
TitleThe Eye and the Window: Realism and Symbolism of Light-Reflections in the Art of Albrecht Dürer and His Predecessors
Publicationin Festschrift für Gert von der Osten
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication1970
Show Literature
CDA.Cat. Washingtion 1968 27 No. 1372 Fig.
Authorn. a.
TitleEuropean Paintings and Sculpture: Illustrations (Companion to the Summary Catalogue, 1965)
Place of PublicationWashington
Year of Publication1968
Show Literature
Gandolf et al. 1968 98, 101 Fig.
AuthorGiampaolo Gandolf
TitleNational Gallery of Art, Washington. Great Museums of the World
Place of PublicationNew York
Year of Publication1968
Show Literature
Cat. Washington 1965 34
Authorn. a.
TitleSummary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture
Place of PublicationWashington
Year of Publication1965
Show Literature
Cat. Washington 1963 355 Fig.
AuthorJohn Walker
TitleNational Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Place of PublicationNew York
Year of Publication1963
Show Literature
Broadley 1960 30-31 Fig.
AuthorHugh T. Broadley
TitleGerman Painting in the National Gallery of Art (Booklet no. 9 in Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC)
Volume9
Place of PublicationWashington
Year of Publication1960
Show Literature
Cat. Washington 1959 311 Fig.
EditorNational Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., Samuel H. Kress Foundation
TitlePaintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection
Place of PublicationWashington
Year of Publication1959
Show Literature
Richardson 1959 275, 277 Fig.
AuthorEdgar Preston Richardson
TitleAccessions of American and Canadian Museums, April-June 1959
JournalThe Art Quarterly
Issue22, no. 3 (Autumn 1959)
Year of Publication1959
Show Literature
Suida, Shapley 1956 56, 58 No. 19 Fig. p. 59
EditorWilliam E. Suida, Fern Rusk Shapley
TitlePaintings and Sculpture from the Kress Colllection. Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-56
Place of PublicationWashington
Year of Publication1956
Show Literature
Winckler 1944 244 Fig. 151
AuthorWinckler
TitleAltdeutsche Tafelmalerei
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication1944
Show Literature
Mayer 1933
AuthorAugust Liebmann Mayer
TitleL. Cranach d. Ä.
JournalPantheon
Issue[6.]1933 = Bd. 11
Year of Publication1933
Pages105-110
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 53-54 124
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1932
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932
Show Literature
Glaser 1923 179, 238 Fig. 101
AuthorCurt Glaser
TitleLukas Cranach
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1923
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/glaser1923
Show Literature
Scheffler 1921 298 Fig. p. 270
AuthorKarl Scheffler
TitleKunstausstellungen
JournalKunst und Künstler
Issue19
Year of Publication1921
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

'Although not often discussed, these portraits have been recognized since first published in 1921 as excellent examples of Cranach's portraiture in the 1520s. Talbot compared their sober mood with that found in the depictions of Martin Luther and his wife, first produced around 1525 but existing in nearly countless replicas [1].

The same format is used: dark figures set against a featureless monochrome background that emphasizes the silhouettes and the differences in figure size. As in the Washington portraits, Martin Luther's figure extends beyond the frame while Katharina von Bora's is contained within its boundaries. Only Koepplin, in a verbal opinion recorded by Eisler, raised the possibility that the pictures were by one of Cranach's sons or by another artist not necessarily in the studio, finding the somewhat grainy paint and unusually flat surfaces not characteristic of Cranach at this time [2]. More importantly, Koepplin noted the influence of Netherlandish portraiture, such as that of Joos van Cleve. There are some points of comparison, for instance, with van Cleve's portraits of Joris Vezeleer and Margaretha Boghe in the National Gallery (1962.9.1-2), probably painted in 1518, in which the figures are set against a green background with cast shadows [3].'

[1] Talbot, draft catalogue entry, 1966, in NGA curatorial files. For portraits of Luther and his wife see [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1978, Nos. 189, 190]. The panel depicting Luther is dated 1526, and numerous other versions of the pair are dated 1525 or 1526 and were done on the occasion of Luther's marriage.

[2] [Eisler 1977, 24]; the verbal communication took place in spring 1968.

[3] [Cat. Washington 1986, 57-62]

[Cat, Washington 1993, 41, 44]

  • Portrait of a Woman, 1522

Images

Compare images
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Documents

Technical studies

21.01.1994Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

The painting is composed of two boards with grain running horizontally. Dendrochronological examination by Peter Klein provided dates of 1356-1516 and 1398-1514 for the boards.[1]

[1] The wood was identified by Peter Klein, examination report, 10 April 1987, in NGA curatorial files, and by the National Gallery's scientific research department. A report from 21.01.1994 records the results from 1987 (see pdf)

[http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=45887&detail=tech] (accessed 08.02.2013)

  • analysed by Peter Klein

1993Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • Stereomicroscopy
  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

The painting is composed of two boards with grain running horizontally. Dendrochronological examination by Peter Klein provided dates of 1356-1516 and 1398-1514 for the boards.[1]

[1] The wood was identified by Peter Klein, examination report, 10 April 1987, in NGA curatorial files, and by the National Gallery's scientific research department.

Ground and Imprimatura

A barbe is present along all four edges, suggesting that the panel was painted in an engaged frame.

Underdrawing

Examination with infrared reflectography did not disclose underdrawing.

Paint Layers and Gilding

As in the companion portrait, the background is applied in a sequence of layers: light brown to light green to dark green glazes.

[http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=45887&detail=tech] (accessed 08.02.2013)

Condition Reports

Date1993

The panel has been thinned and an auxiliary support, estimated to be mahogany, was added prior to the addition of the cradle.[...]

The painting is in good condition, with scattered retouching throughout, noticeably on the edges and along the join line.

[http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=45887&detail=tech] (accessed 08.02.2013)

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Portrait of a Woman', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/US_NGA_1959-9-2/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Portrait of a Woman', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/US_NGA_1959-9-2/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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