The Nativity and the Adoration of the Shepherds

The Nativity and the Adoration of the Shepherds

Title

The Nativity and the Adoration of the Shepherds

[Melzer, in Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005, 54]

Painting on limewood (probably)

Medium

Painting on limewood (probably)

[cda 2015]

The painting depicts a stone trough in the foreground, in which the infant Christ lies wrapped in cloth. From the left appear an ox and ass as well as a shepherd dress in a red robe who has removed his hat. At the centre of the image the Virgin kneels

The painting depicts a stone trough in the foreground, in which the infant Christ lies wrapped in cloth. From the left appear an ox and ass as well as a shepherd dress in a red robe who has removed his hat. At the centre of the image the Virgin kneels in an attitude of prayer, while on the right a further two shepherds kneel and a fourth man joins them. Behind the Virgin a large throng of small angels and angels' heads appear in a cloud. The annunciation to the shepherds is visible in the background.

[Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz; http://museum-digital.de/san/index.php?t=objekt&oges=13761; accessed 24 March 2015]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Melzer 2005, 54] [Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz; http://museum-digital.de/san/index.php?t=objekt&oges=13761; accessed 24 March 2015]

Production dates
about 1520
1525 - 1530

Production dates

about 1520

[Melzer, in Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005, 54]

before 1520

[Melzer 2015, 155]

1525 - 1530

[Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz; http://museum-digital.de/san/index.php?t=objekt&oges=13761; accessed 24 March 2015]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 49.2 x 75.7 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 49.2 x 75.7 cm

  • [cda 2015]

Signature / Dating

None

Inscriptions and Labels

Reverse on the support: - at the top left:
damaged label: 'Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie // Werkstatt-Tagebuch Nr. 230'

  • at top, centre

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse on the support: - at the top left:

  • damaged label: 'Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie // Werkstatt-Tagebuch Nr. 230'

    • at top, centre

  • in white chalk: '41.'

    • at bottom, centre:

  • in black paint: '17.'

  • [Görres, cda 2015]

Owner
Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz
Repository
Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz, Gotisches Haus (The Gothic House)
Location
Wörlitz
CDA ID
DE_KsDW_I-52
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_KsDW_I-52/

Provenance

  • ducal inventory no. for the mid 19th century: No. 1640
  • 'Gothisches Haus' Wörlitz
    [Melzer 2005, 54, 58 Fn. 26]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Wörlitz 2015 118-119
EditorKulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz
EditingWolfgang Savelsberg
TitleCranach im Gotischen Haus in Wörlitz, [Wörlitz, Gotisches Haus, 15 May - 4 Oct. 2015]
SeriesKataloge und Schriften der Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz
Volume35
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Show Literature
Melzer 2015 B 155 14
AuthorReinhard Melzer
TitleDer Cranach-Bestand des Gotischen Hauses
Publicationin Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz, ed., Cranach im Gotischen Haus in Wörlitz, Exhib. Cat. Wörlitz
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages149-162
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005 54
EditorHarald Marx, Karin Kolb, Ingrid Mössinger
TitleCranach Anlässlich der Ausstellung Cranach vom 13. November 2005 bis 12. März 2006 in den Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz. Eine Ausstellung in Kooperation mit der Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Show Literature
Melzer 2005 54, 58 Fn. 26
AuthorReinhard Melzer
TitleCranach in Wörlitz. Das Gotische Haus als frühe Sammlungsstätte altdeutscher Malerei
Publicationin Harald Marx, Ingrid Mössinger, Karin Kolb, ed., Cranach. Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Pages44-58
Show Literature
Hartmann 1913
AuthorAdolph Hartmann
TitleDer Wörlitzer Park und seine Kunstschätze
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1913
Show Literature
Rode 1818
AuthorAugust Rode
TitleDas Gothische Haus zu Wörlitz, nebst anderen Ergänzungen der Beschreibung des Herzoglichen Landhauses und Gartens zu Wörlitz
Place of PublicationDessau
Year of Publication1818
Show Literature
  • The Nativity and the Adoration of the Shepherds, about 1520

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse
  • irr
  • uv_light
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail

Technical studies

03. 2015Technical Examination

Support

- the support appears be limewood and consists of two horizontally aligned boards

- battens 6 mm in width were added to the top and right edges

- the reverse of the panel has been preserved in its original state and reveals a bare wood surface without a black coating. It was carefully smoothed at right angles to the direction of the grain with a block plane.

- on the reverse the rebate has been retained along the left, right and top edges. The panel was trimmed along the bottom edge (the width of the rebate) as well as minimally along the top edge. The original height of the panel (c. 49 cm) can be extrapolated by adding the width of the rebate and removing that of the additional batten.

[Heydenreich, cda 2015]

  • examined by Gunnar Heydenreich

03. 2015Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Material:

- fluid black medium, brush

Type/Ductus:

- only a few thin lines are visible

Function:

- an assessment was not possible as the underdrawing lines are frequently covered by the painted contours

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Sandner, Smith-Contini, Heydenreich, cda 2015]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

03. 2015Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • UV-light photography
  • uv_light
  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

Condition Reports

Date03. 2015

The reverse exhibits two grooves for vertical battens

[Heydenreich, cda 2015]

  • examined by Gunnar Heydenreich

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Nativity and the Adoration of the Shepherds', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_KsDW_I-52/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Nativity and the Adoration of the Shepherds', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_KsDW_I-52/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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