Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony

Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony

Title

Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony

[cda 2020]

Painting on wood (beech?)

Medium

Painting on wood (beech?)

[Unpublished examination report, I. Sandner, 06.11.2002; Koepplin Archive]

The sitter is depicted as a half-length figure in three quarter profile against a dark green curtain and looking to her right. Her elaborate dress of gold brocade with slit sleeves and a high collar bears a motto around the neckline, embroidered with pearls. She wears a bonnet with her

The sitter is depicted as a half-length figure in three quarter profile against a dark green curtain and looking to her right. Her elaborate dress of gold brocade with slit sleeves and a high collar bears a motto around the neckline, embroidered with pearls. She wears a bonnet with her monogram ‘M’ and a plaited bridal wreath on her head, both are decorated with pearls. Three large chains, one with a pendant shaped like a wheel, a precious stone and a pearl drop, as well as two rings on her right hand complete her rich attire.

[cda 2020]

Attributions
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Dorotheum online database, accessed 07.09.2020]
[Unpublished examination report, I. Sandner, 06.11.2002; Koepplin Archive]

Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop

[Letter from C. Grimm to Dorotheum, Vienna, 12.12.2002; Koepplin Archive]
Cranach the Younger, or Hans Cranach? [Letter from D. Koepplin to Dorotheum, Vienna, 14.01.2003; Koepplin Archive]

Lucas Cranach the Younger

Cranach the Elder and workshop or Hans Cranach? [Letter from D. Koepplin to Dorotheum, Vienna, 14.01.2003; Koepplin Archive]

Hans Cranach

Cranach the Elder and workshop or Lucas Cranach the Younger? [Letter from D. Koepplin to Dorotheum, Vienna, 14.01.2003; Koepplin Archive]

Production date
about 1534

Production date

about 1534

[Letter from D. Koepplin to the Dorotheum, Vienna, 14.01.2003; Koepplin Archive]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 48.2 x 31.8 cm

Dimensions

Signature / Dating

none

Inscriptions and Labels
  • pearl embroidery around the sitter's neckline, in three bands: 'E.N.O.F.A.E. // N.OF.A.E. // .N.O.F.A.'
  • embroidered with pearls on her head …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • pearl embroidery around the sitter's neckline, in three bands:
  • 'E.N.O.F.A.E. // N.OF.A.E. // .N.O.F.A.'

    • embroidered with pearls on her head attire:
  • 'M'

Owner
Private Collection
Repository
Private Collection
CDA ID
PRIVATE_NONE-P433
FR (1978) Nr.
FR349C
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P433/

Provenance

  • Michel van Gelder, Chateau Zeecrabbe, Uccle, near Brussels, 1914
  • Dowdeswell Gallery, London, 1914
  • Galerie Schnackenberg, Munich 1927
    [see: letter from D. Koepplin to the Dorotheum, Vienna, 14.01.2003; Koepplin Archive]
  • Galerie Matthiesen, Berlin, 1927 - 1935
  • Braunschweig estate sale, Lepke, Berlin, 28.03.1935, lot 9
  • Dr H Wendland, Paris
  • A. S. Drey, Munich
  • Frank sale, Helbing, Frankfurt, 11.-13.05.1936, lot 156
  • Knoedler's, New York
  • Clenendin J. Ryan estate sale, Park Bernet, New York, 17-20.01.1940 [with Friedländer expertise, 06.10.1927 - now lost]
  • Newhouse Galleries, New York
  • Thomas Mellon Evans Collection, from 1964
  • sold at Christie's, New York, 22.05.1998, lot 54
    [page from an auction catalogue, Christie's, New York, 22.05.1998, lot 54; Koepplin Archive]
  • private collection
  • sold, Dorotheum, Vienna, 27.03.2003, lot 303
    [Dorotheum online database, accessed 07.09.2020]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 349C
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Zimmermann E. H. 1942 B 26-28 Fig. 3
AuthorErnst Heinrich Zimmermann
TitleBeiträge zur Ikonographie Cranachscher Bildnisse
JournalZeitschrift des deutschen Vereins für Kunstwissenschaft
Issue9
Year of Publication1942
Pages23-52
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 81 283b
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
  • Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony, about 1534

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse

Technical studies

06.11.2002Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • X-radiography
  • UV-light photography
  • Stereomicroscopy

Support

Summary of an examination report (see attached pdf):

- probably beech wood panel

- dimensions (48.2 x 31.8 cm) correspond with the standard format C used in the Cranach workshop

Underdrawing

- an underdrawing is visible in the infrared reflectogram and is characterized by faint lines defining the main contours and describing essential details; probably executed using dark chalk

-

Paint Layers and Gilding

- the x-radiograph illustrates the characteristic rational technique employed in the Cranach workshop for rendering the flesh paint.

- it also shows that very few alterations were made during the painting process: only the eyes appear to have been originally posiitioned somewhat lower down.

- the infrared reflectogram on the other hand shows corrections made to the sleeve during the painting process

[Unpublished examination report, I. Sandner, 06.11.2002; Koepplin Archive]

Condition Reports

Date06.11.2002

Summary of examination report (see attached pdf):

Support:

  • thinned and cradled

Paint Layers:

  • minor losses e. g. area of the cheeks, white lining and along the bottom edge

  • some small retouches in the face and lower 5/6 cm of the panel

  • generally in good condition

Coatings:

  • uniform layer of varnish

  • small cleaning test visible on the right shoulder

[Unpublished examination report, I. Sandner, 06.11.2002; Koepplin Archive]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P433/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P433/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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