Alexander, Prince of Saxony

Alexander, Prince of Saxony

Painting on paper

Medium

Painting on paper
prepared with a pinkish grey ground, brush and oil tempera, remnants of a preliminary drawing in charcoal

[Albertina online, accessed 21.07.2025]

'This drawing from the Albertina is a portrait of Alexander of Saxony, a son of Elector Augustus of Saxony. The sheet is a preparatory study of the head for a full-length portrait painting, which is signed and dated 1564 and is now in Dresden [...].' [DE_SKD_RKH96]

[Widauer, Cat. Vienna 2008, no.

'This drawing from the Albertina is a portrait of Alexander of Saxony, a son of Elector Augustus of Saxony. The sheet is a preparatory study of the head for a full-length portrait painting, which is signed and dated 1564 and is now in Dresden [...].' [DE_SKD_RKH96]

[Widauer, Cat. Vienna 2008, no. 18] (translated from German, cda 2025)

Attributions
Lucas Cranach the Younger
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Younger

[Albertina online, accessed 21.07.2025] [Exhib. Cat. Wittenberg 2015 A, 104, 105, 117, 121] [Hofbauer 2010, 422, no. 211] [Schade 1974, 465, no. 247] [Schuchardt 1851 C, 144]

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Herzog Albert von Sachsen-Teschen; Nachlass-Inventar 1822, 303, Albertina online, accessed 21.07.2025]

Dating
about 1564

Dating

about 1564

[Albertina online, accessed 21.07.2025] [Schade 1974, 465, no. 247]

Dimensions
Sheet: 327 × 241 mm

Dimensions

Signature / Dating

none

Inscriptions

none

Inscriptions

Inscriptions:

  • none

Labels

- citing Schuchardt 1851: 'Le portrait d'un jeune Duc Alexandre de Saxe'
- bottom left: stamp (Albert Kasimir, Duke …

Labels

later inscription, stamps, seals, labels:

Owner
Albertina, Vienna
Repository
Albertina, Vienna
Location
Vienna
CDA ID
AT_AW_3202
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/AT_AW_3202/

Provenance

- Albert Kasimir, Duke of Teschen; estate inventory 1822, 303
- Albertina, Vienna
[3202]&showtype=record">[Albertina online, accessed 21.07.2025]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Buck 2015 143, 152, fn. 2
AuthorStephanie Buck
TitleAuf Papier. Zu Cranachs Bildnisstudien
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages142-153
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Wittenb 2015 B
EditorRoland Enke, Jutta Strehle, Katja Schneider
TitleLucas Cranach der Jüngere - Entdeckung eines Meisters, Stiftung Luthergedenkstätten in Sachsen-Anhalt, Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Augusteum, 26 June - 1 November 2015
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Show Literature
Exhib.Cat. Vienna 2014 90, 91
EditorKlaus Albrecht Schröder
TitleDie Gründung der Albertina. 100 Meisterwerke der Sammlung, [Albertina, Wien]
Place of PublicationOstfildern
Year of Publication2014
Show Literature
Hofbauer 2010 422, 423 211 Fig. p. 423
AuthorMichael Hofbauer
TitleCranach - die Zeichnungen
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication2010
Show Literature
Cat. Vienna 2008 018
EditorKlaus Albrecht Schröder
TitleDie großen Meister der Albertina
Place of PublicationPetersberg
Year of Publication2008
Show Literature
Cat. Vienna 2003 Fig. 19
EditorKlaus Albrecht Schröder
TitleMeisterzeichnungen: Dürer bis Michelangelo
Place of PublicationBad Vöslau
Year of Publication2003
Show Literature
Schade 1977
AuthorWerner Schade
TitleBeobachtungen an Vorzeichnungen von Cranach-Bildern
Publicationin Dieter Koepplin, ed., Akten des Kolloquiums zur Basler Cranach-Ausstellung 1974
Place of PublicationBasel
Year of Publication1977
Pages11-12
Show Literature
Schade 1974 102, 103, 465 247 pl. 247
AuthorWerner Schade
TitleDie Malerfamilie Cranach
Place of PublicationDresden
Year of Publication1974
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schade1974
Show Literature
Cat. Vienna 1933 371
AuthorHans Tietze, Otto Benesch, Erika Tietze-Conrat, Karl Garzarolli-Thurnlackh
EditorAlfred Stix
TitleBeschreibender Katalog der Handzeichnungen in der Graphischen Sammlung Albertina IV/V: Die Zeichnungen der Deutschen Schulen bis zum Beginn des Klassizismus
Place of PublicationVienna
Year of Publication1933
Show Literature
Schuchardt 1851 C 144 442 (7)
AuthorChristian Schuchardt
TitleLucas Cranach des Aeltern Leben und Werke. Zweiter Theil
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1851
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schuchardt1851bd2
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

The study is considered to have served as a preparatory drawing for [DE_SKD_RKH96].

[cda 2026]

'The full-length painting based on the Albertina's portrait study was part of a series of family portraits; besides the paintings of Alexander's mother Anne Oldenburg, Princess of Denmark, and Alexander's sister Elisabeth, completed in 1564, Cranach added a portrait of their father, Elector Augustus of Saxony, to the series a year later. A second preparatory drawing that served as a study for the portrait painting of Elisabeth has also survived. It is now in the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin and is not only closely related to the Albertina drawing in technique and style, but also in the way the sitter has been represented.'

[Widauer, Cat. Vienna 2008, no. 18] (translated from German, cda 2025)

  • Alexander, Prince of Saxony, about 1564

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License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Condition Reports

Date2025

'theleft top and bottom corners have been cut off and replaced'

[3202]&showtype=record">[Albertina online, accessed 21.07.2025]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Alexander, Prince of Saxony', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/AT_AW_3202/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Alexander, Prince of Saxony', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/AT_AW_3202/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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