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Lucas Cranach the Elder - Private Collection - Lucretia - Overall

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Painting:

CDA ID / Inventory Number	PRIVATE_NONE-P143
Persistent Link	https://lucascranach.org/PRIVATE_NONE-P143
FR (1978) No.	FR042

Title:

Lucretia

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 78, No. 42]

Attribution:

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010, 149, No. 81]
[Exhib. Cat. Hamburg 2003, No. 78]
[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 78, No. 42]

Dating:

about 1510-1513

[Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010, 149, No. 81]
[Exhib. Cat. Hamburg 2003, No. 78]
[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 78, No. 42]

Owner / Repository / Location:

Owner	Private Collection
Repository	Private Collection
Location

Dimensions:

Dimensions of support: 60 x 47 cm
[Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010, 149, No. 81]

Support:

Painting on lime wood
[Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010, 149, No. 81]

Signature / Date:

None

Description:

The painting depicts the classical heroine Lucretia as a seated half-length figure in contemporary dress and accessories.
Lucretia's hair is pinned up and she inclines her head slightly to the left side of the image, while looking directly at the viewer. She is wearing a white undergarment, which reveals her torso and a fur-trimmed cloak is draped over her shoulders. Her left hand rests on her lap and she holds a long dagger in her right hand. This is pointed slightly upwards. She wears a chain with a pendant around her neck, as well as two large linked chains. The background is dark.

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]

Provenance:

- 06.06.1906 aution Löwenfeld by Lepke in Berlin, No. 40 [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 78, No. 42]
- 1919 bequested to the city of Hamburg by Siegfried Wedells
[Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010, 149, No. 81]
- 1961 sold at Sotheby's in London
[Exhib.Cat. Brussels 2010, 149, No. 81]
(the same information was also published in Exhib. Cat. Hamburg 2003, however erroneously under entry No. 79)

Exhibitions:

Basel 1974, No. 576
Venice 1999, No. 82
Hamburg 2003, Cat. No. 78
Brussels 2010, No. 81

Sources / Publications:

Reference on Page

Catalogue Number

Figure/Plate

Cat. Coburg 2018

99, fn. 16, 100, fn. 1

under nos. 16, 17

Teget-Welz 2018

224

Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010

149-150

Exhib. Cat. Hamburg 2003

80, 182

Pl. 78

Exhib. Cat. Venice 1999

366

Emmendörffer 1998

206-207

Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974

661-663

576

Fig. 322a

Interpretation / History / Discussion:

The insignia and the date 1534 at the top left corner were not authentic and were removed (probably between 1906 and 1919).
[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 661, No. 576]

This is the earliest of the surviving versions depicting the subject of Lucretia. The date has been inferred from a 1514 copy by Hans Döring, a pupil of Cranach. The painting was probably originally conceived as a pendant piece to the Salome in Lisbon (FR032), which was created about 1509. Both women are wearing a choker set with precious stones.
[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 661, No. 576]

Related Works:

Versions:
	US_CAMS_1872-540 Lucretia Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento Copy in Sacramento after the Lucretia in a private collection [FR042]
	CH_KMB_178 Lucretia Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel Copy in Basel after the Lucretia in a private collection [FR042]
	DE_KsDW_I-55 Lukretia Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz, Gotisches Haus (The Gothic House) Copy in Wörlitz after the Lucretia in a private collection [FR042]
	DE_MW_M26 Lucretia Museum Wiesbaden Copy in Wiesbaden after the Lucretia in a private collection [FR042]
	PRIVATE_NONE-P063 Lucretia Private Collection created during the same period similar composition