The Virgin under the Apple Tree

The Virgin under the Apple Tree

Title

The Virgin under the Apple Tree

[Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1980 B, 44-45]

Painting on limewood (?)

Medium

Painting on limewood (?)

[Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1980 B, 44-45]

The Virgin sits under an apple tree wearing a red robe. She inclines her head slightly to the left and looks at the beholder while supporting the naked infant Christ on her lap with her hands. Eight putti are depicted sleeping and cleaning themselves at the edge of a fountain

The Virgin sits under an apple tree wearing a red robe. She inclines her head slightly to the left and looks at the beholder while supporting the naked infant Christ on her lap with her hands. Eight putti are depicted sleeping and cleaning themselves at the edge of a fountain in the background or collecting apples from the tree. A ninth putto gives an apple to the infant Christ.

[Görres, cda 2013]

Attributions
Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder (?)
Circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder (?)

[Dieter Koepplin, verbal information 2003]

Circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1980 B, 44-45]

Lucas Cranach the Elder (?)

[Dieter Koepplin, verbal information 2003]

Production date
1526

Production date

1526

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 118 x 78 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 118 x 78 cm

  • [Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1980 B, 44-45]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the centre left: winged serpent with elevated wings and date '1526'

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia at the centre left: winged serpent with elevated wings and date '1526'

  • [cda 2013]

Owner
Ev.-Luth. Kirchgemeinde Groß Gievitz
Repository
Staatliches Museum Schwerin, Museum Schloss Güstrow
Location
Güstrow
CDA ID
DE_GG-SMS_FE171
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_GG-SMS_FE171/

Provenance

on loan from the church of Groß Gievitz

[cda 2013]

Exhibitions

  • Weimar 1972
  • Berlin 1980, No. 9

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1980 B 44-45
EditorStaatliche Museen zu Berlin DDR
TitleRestaurierte Kunstwerke in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1980
Show Literature
Ende 1975
AuthorHorst Ende
TitleDorfkirchen in Mecklenburg
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1975
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Weimar 1972 A
AuthorGerhard Pommeranz-Liedtke
TitleDas Kinderbild von Meisterhand. Wandlungen eines Themas der bildenden Kunst von Lucas Cranach bis zur Gegenwart [Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar]
Place of PublicationWeimar
Year of Publication1972
Show Literature
  • The Virgin under the Apple Tree, 1526

Images

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Technical studies

07. 2013Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

- an underdrawing is not readily visible

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2013]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

1974Technical Examination

Support

- the wooden panel consisting of three vertically aligned planks was transferred to a plywood board

[Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1980 B, 44-45]

  • examined by Helmut Müller
  • examined by Elke Steininger

Condition Reports

Date1974

  • transferred to a plywood board during an earlier restoration

  • animal skin glue was probably employed as the adhesive to laminate the panels

  • the joins are visible as splits in the old retouching and fills

  • damage to the panel along the edges and on the top and bottom right corners has been repaired with fill material

  • there are two later inserts in the area of the second tree on the rocky outcrop. These are slightly higher than the picture plane and the step has been leveled with fill material.

  • at the top left corner and along the left edge of the panel two pieces are missing from the support (c. 3 and 5 cm²), here wax has been employed to consolidate the area

  • along the bottom edge the original support is no longer attached to the auxillary support

  • old retouches over woodworm holes seem discoloured

  • many of the retouches extend over the original paint

  • an initial chalk layer was used for large areas of the reconstruction

  • the paint layers were partially abraded when the joins were sanded down

  • the very glossy, relatively thick soft-resin varnish is patchy and slightly yellowed

[Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1980 B, 44-45]

  • examined by Helmut Müller
  • examined by Elke Steininger

Conservation History

Date1974

  • flaking paint was consolidated with a solution of polyvinylacetate

  • flaking in the areas treated with wax were consolidated with a wax-resin mixture

  • disturbing old retouches were removed

  • irregular fills and retouches were removed during the varnish removal

  • losses in the chalk ground and wax were filled and textured

  • areas of damage along the left edge were reinforced with canvas

  • tratteggio retouching using water colour was employed

  • the original forms could be revealed under much of the old retouching

  • the Virgin's hand was carefully reconstructed, but without modelling

  • finally a thin varnish was applied to the panel (Dammer in oil of terpentine 1:5) and it was sprayed with a wax-varnish and then mattened

  • an original frame on a painting by a follower of Cranach from 1530 served as the prototype for the new frame

[Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1980 B, 44-45]

  • conservation treatment by Klaus Lärz
  • conservation treatment by Helmut Müller
  • conservation treatment by Elke Steininger

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Virgin under the Apple Tree', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_GG-SMS_FE171/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Virgin under the Apple Tree', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_GG-SMS_FE171/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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