Allegorical Portrait of a Knight, possibly the Emperor Maximilian I as Saint George

Allegorical Portrait of a Knight, possibly the Emperor Maximilian I as Saint George

Title

Allegorical Portrait of a Knight, possibly the Emperor Maximilian I as Saint George

[Sotheby's online database: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/old-masters-day-sale-l16037/lot.117.html; accessed 30.03.2020]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Sotheby's online database: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/old-masters-day-sale-l16037/lot.117.html; accessed 30.03.2020]

'Attired in an extravagant, plumed hat and a shining suit of armor with slashed hosen, Saint George reaches down from his horse to take the hand of a fashionably-dressed princess whom he has rescued from the dragon. The saint is attended by his squire and three mounted soldiers, all of

'Attired in an extravagant, plumed hat and a shining suit of armor with slashed hosen, Saint George reaches down from his horse to take the hand of a fashionably-dressed princess whom he has rescued from the dragon. The saint is attended by his squire and three mounted soldiers, all of whom wear plumed helmets with their visors raised. A monogram with the initials 'M.I.' surmounted by a crown appears on all of the horse brasses and on Saint George's chapeau. It is even more prominently displayed on the leading retainer's shoulder and on the arm of the squire. This repeated device, together with the unusual presence of the squire, who rarely appears in representations of this event from the saint's life, suggest that the artist intended this particular George to be identifiable.' It has been suggested that it may represent Maximillian I idealised as St George.

[Christie's Sales Catalogue, Sale 2819, Renaissance, 29 January 2014, New York, Rockefeller Plaza]

Attributions
Circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Sotheby's online database: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/old-masters-day-sale-l16037/lot.117.html; accessed 30.03.2020]

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Dieter Koepplin, written communication,14.12.2013]

Production date
about 1515 - 1520

Production date

about 1515 - 1520

[Dieter Koepplin, written communication, 14.12.2013]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 48 x 45.3 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 48 x 45.3 cm

  • [Sotheby's online database: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/old-masters-day-sale-l16037/lot.117.html; accessed 30.03.2020]

Inscriptions and Labels
  • the cipher 'M.I.' surmounted by a crown on all the horse brasses
    [Sotheby's online database: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/old-masters-day-sale-l16037/lot.117.html; accessed 30.03.2020]

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • the cipher 'M.I.' surmounted by a crown on all the horse brasses
  • [Sotheby's online database: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/old-masters-day-sale-l16037/lot.117.html; accessed 30.03.2020]

Owner
Private Collection
Repository
Private Collection
CDA ID
PRIVATE_NONE-P335
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P335/

Provenance

  • anonymous noble collection until 1978
  • with Trafalgar Galleries, London
  • sold at Christie's, New York 29.01.2014, sale 2819, lot 161 (online reference no longer available)
  • sold at Sotheby's London, 08.12.2016, lot 117
    [Sotheby's online database: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/old-masters-day-sale-l16037/lot.117.html; accessed 30.03.2020]

Exhibitions

London 1979, no. 7

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. London 1979 7
AuthorRonald Cohen
TitleTrafalgar Galleries at the Royal Academy II
Place of PublicationLondon
Year of Publication1979
  • Allegorical Portrait of a Knight, possibly the Emperor Maximilian I as Saint George, about 1515 - 1520

Images

Compare images
  • overall

Technical studies

29.01.2014Technical Examination

Support

The panel is approximately 0.5 cm thick and is not reinforced on the reverse. Strips of canvas/tow are affixed to the reverse, corresponding to fine vertically-oriented cracks on the recto.

[Christie's Sales Catalogue, Sale 2819, Renaissance, 29 January 2014, New York, Rockefeller Plaza]

Condition Reports

Date29.01.2014

The panel is warped slightly, approximately 2 cm from left to right.

The paint is stable and the varnish is clear.

Under natural light, slight scuffing due to frame contact is visible along the extreme lower and left edges, and a fine craquelure is visible. The sky in the upper right quadrant appears slightly discolored in places. Vertically oriented cracks are also visible, approximately 5 cm, 7 cm and 28 cm from the left edge, respectively. Under ultraviolet light there is increased fluoresces along the cracks and in associated areas, including the face and garment of the kneeling lady at right and the top of the horse's head, also in areas near the upper edge and in the sky at the right. Scattered touches of increased fluoresce are visible on the horse's rear and in the vegetation at lower left.

[Christie's Sales Catalogue, Sale 2819, Renaissance, 29 January 2014, New York, Rockefeller Plaza]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Allegorical Portrait of a Knight, possibly the Emperor Maximilian I as Saint George', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P335/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Allegorical Portrait of a Knight, possibly the Emperor Maximilian I as Saint George', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P335/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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