A Stag-hunt with Elector Johann Friedrich

The painting first entered the Imperial Gallery’s public collection in 1837 and was classified as a work by Lucas Cranach the Elder. [1] Schuchardt attributed the stag hunt to the younger Cranach on the basis of stylistic criteria.[2] Whereas Engerth conjectured that the son assisted only with the ‚accessories‘ Scheibler agreed with Schuchardt’s attribution.[3] In the Museum guide from 1896 Scheibler’s opinion is accepted, however it was retracted in the reprint from 1907. At length since 1928 the Stag-hunt has been attributed to Lucas Cranach the Younger in the catalogues of the Kunsthistorischen Museum.[4] Friedländer and Rosenberg view the painting in Vienna, as well as the Stag-hunt, dated 1540 and now in Cleveland, as variants after the painting in Madrid from 1545 and are inclined to consider it ‚preferably‘ as a work by Lucas Cranach the Younger, whereas they attribute the later paintings in Madrid to the Elder.[5]

The electoral pair from Saxony, Johann Friedrich and Sibylle, as well as their most prominent guest Emperor Charles V are clearly recognizable.[6] In the background the castle Hartenfels and the town of Torgau can be easily identified.[7] From 1928 it was assumed that not Charles V. but his brother King Ferdinand (later Emperor Ferdinand I.) was among the hunting guests.[8] In 1969 Hilger pointed out that King Ferdinand did not grow a beard until after 1547 and that therefore it could only be Charles V. portrayed in this hunting scene.[9] Friedrich II of the Pfalz can be seen directly in front of the emperor.[10] The Golden Fleece as well as the coat-of-arms of the Electoral Palatinate in the top left corner support this assumption.[11]

There are various suggestions regarding the identity of the crossbow archer in greyish blue clothing standing beneath the tree: Oberhammer assumes it is Duke Ernst of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (1497-1546).[12] The other suggestion is that Duke Philipp I of Braunschweig-Grubenhagen (1476-1551) could be the archer under the tree.[13]

The hunt was already the subject of artistic expression at the court of Emperor Maximilian I. by about 1500 (see Jörg Kölderer, ‚Stag-hunt on the Long Lawn near Innsbruck, Illustration in Emperor Maximilians I.’s ‘Tirol Hunting Book, 1500). Therefore from the beginning of his career as court painter in Wittenberg Cranach also dealt with this subject. His earliest Hunting Scene is a large woodcut, dated to 1506 (Bartsch 119): The composition of a hunt in the countryside, shown from a high viewpoint, can already be found quite early in Cranach’s repertoire. It may be assumed that numerous such depictions were executed on ‚tuchlein‘ or as wall-paintings for decorative purposes and have not been preserved.[14] There are however some panel paintings and fragments of hunting scenes which have survived from the Cranach workshop: The earlier ones can be dated about 1530 (e.g. Kunsthistorisches Museum, GG-3560; Kopenhagen, Statens Museum for Kunst, Inv. KMSsp728; Linköping, Länsmuseet Östergötland, Inv. B. 244; Glasgow, Burell Coll.). The later versions are from the 1540s and are with dimensions of c. 115 x 170 cm larger formats: among these are, in addition to the painting discussed, one from the castle of Moritzburg from 1540 (now in Cleveland), a panel in the Prado from 1544 and another painting also there from the year 1545 (see related works).

The paintings created in the 1540s are not only similar in size and composition, all four also depict the castle of Hartenfels and the electoral pair Johann Friedrich and Sybille of Saxony among the participants at the hunt.

The hunting scenes in Cleveland (1540) and the Prado (1544) show, although not quite accurate in detail, the south east elevation of the castle complex.[15]

A different elevation is shown in the painting discussed here from 1544 and the second painting from 1545 in Madrid: here the Northeast facade facing the Elbe is shown and to the left the whole Johann-Friedrich wing (as such the prominent ‚green tower‘ occupies a central position). A further feature of this wing is the ‚bottle tower‘ with its winding stair. The castle chapel, rising over three floors, is located in the right section of the wing, and as the first new protestant church building was consecrated by Martin Luther on the 5th of October 1544.[16]

It has already been established that an historical hunting scene has not been documented, as Charles V. was never in Torgau before the Battle of Mühlberg.[17] The hunting scenes from the 1540s were conceived as gifts for other ruling houses and should convey a symbolic statement: the commissioner of the painting, Johann Friedrich of Sachsen, was the commander of the Schmalkaldic League, the military alliance of protestant landlords in opposition to the emperor. In the painting the opposing parties are shown hunting together. The recently modernized castle of Hartenfels, positioned centrally in the background, is shown as a representative residence but also as the centre of the new faith. In the years before the Schmalkaldic war there was still hope, that the question of faith could be peacefully resolved with Charles V. It was not until after the Battle of Mühlberg that this option no longer existed under Charles V. The hunting scenes in Madrid and Vienna therefore convey the elector’s political ideal.[18] Represented as a hunter in front of his imposing residence the elector presents himself to the contemporary viewer as a wise, able and determined territorial prince, capable of asserting his religious political goals.[19]

[1] A. Krafft, Verzeichnis der Gemäldegalerie, Vienna 1837, p. 199, Cat. 36

[2] C. Schuchardt Lucas Cranach d. Ä. Leben und Werke, Leipzig 1851, Bd. 2, p. 138

[3] E. Engerth, Beschreibendes Verzeichnis, Kunsthist. Slg. d. a.h. Kaiserhauses. Bd. III Deutsche Schulen, Wien 1886, p. 52, No. 1481; L. Scheibler: Über altdeutsche Gemälde in der kaiserlichen Galerie zu Wien, in: Rep. f. Kw., 10, 1887, p. 297-299

[4] Cat. KHM 1896, 1907 and 1928, each with the No. 1468.

[5] Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, under No. 412

[6] First by A. Krafft, Verzeichnis der Gemäldegalerie, Vienna 1837, Cat. 36

[7] First attributed by W. A. Baillie-Grohman, Ancient Weapons of the Chase, in: Burl. Magazine, IV, 11, 1904, p. 158

[8] Cat. KHM 1928, No. 1468

[9] Hilger, Wolfgang (1969): Ikonographie Kaiser Ferdinands I : (1503 - 1564). Wien: Böhlau (Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Geschichte Österreichs, 3), p. 129; Hilger, Wolfgang (2003): "Das Bild vom König und Kaiser". Anmerkungen zu Verbreitung und Wirkungsgeschichte von Herrscherdarstellungen am Beispiel Ferdinands I. In: Seipel, Wilfried (ed.): Kaiser Ferdinand I. 1503 - 1564 ; das Werden der Habsburgermonarchie. Vienna, p. 231–241, p. 137-138

[10] Oberhammer, Vinzenz (ed.) (1959): Die Gemäldegalerie des Kunsthistorischen Museums. 1. Halbband: Malerei nördlich der Alpen XV. - XVII. Jahrhundert. 100 plates. Vienna, Munich, Text for plate 22

[11] The same coat-of-arms can be found in the glass salon (Gläsernen Saalbau) in the castle of Heidelberg (vgl. Wappen der Kurlinie Pfalz: http://www.dr-bernhard-peter.de/Heraldik/wittelsbach.htm), which was built by Friedrich II. (see http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberger_Schloss). In 1544 Friedrich succeeded his brother in office as elector and arch-steward. He is also depicted in the painting in Madrid at the left behind the emperor. Compare also the portrait by an anonymous German artist: Count Palatine Friedrich II. (1482-1556), as a full-length figure, 1545, KHM, GG-8177.

[12] Oberhammer (1959), op. cit., Text for plate 22. He presumably orientated himself on Friedländer and Rosenberg’s identification of the man in the same position in the Madrid painting from 1545 [see Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932, No. 331 and 1979, No. 412] although this person in the Madrid painting can be correctly identified as Ernst of Braunschweig-Grubenhagen, as was suggested by Rosenberg 1934 and Zimmermann 1942 [E.H. Zimmermann, „Ein Bildnisentwurf Lucas Cranachs d. J.“, in: Berliner Museen, Bd. 63, Heft 1, 1942, p. 2-4, p. 4; J. Rosenberg, „Deutsche Bildniszeichnungen des XVI. Jahrhunderts im Museum zu Reims“, in: Jahrbuch der Preußischen Kunstsammlungen, Bd. 55, 1934, p. 181-191, p. 185]

[13] Zimmermann, E. Heinrich (1942): Beiträge zur Ikonographie Cranachscher Bildnisse. In: Zeitschrift des Deutschen Vereins für Kunstwissenschaft, Jg. 9, p. 23–52, p. 36

[14] Last: G. Messling in: AK Brüssel 2010, p. 129-130; B. Aikema in: AK Rom 2010, Kat. 1 und 2; Sternelle; AK Veste Coburg 2010, Apelles am Fürstenhof, bes. p. 208-223.

[15] The Johann-Friedrich wing can be seen, as it was designed and built by Konrad Krebs between 1533-36. On the right side the prominent ‘green tower’ with its onion-dome is recognizable. [S. Delang, Schloß Hartenfels Torgau, (Schnell, Kunstführer No. 2295), 1. edition 1997, p. 8-14; Findeisen, Peter; Magirius, Heinrich (ed.): Die Denkmale der Stadt Torgau. Leipzig 1976 (Die Denkmale im Bezirk Leipzig), p. 138-140, p. 147]

[16] see Dehio, Bezirke Dresden, Karl-Marx-Stadt, Leipzig, Berlin 1965, p. 403-405; Findeisen, Peter; Magirius, Heinrich (ed.): Die Denkmale der Stadt Torgau. Leipzig 1976 (Die Denkmale im Bezirk Leipzig), p. 172; Hancke, Hansjochen: Das Torgauer Stadtbild und die Ansichten von Lucas Cranach. In: Stockhausen, Tilmann von; Hollberg, Cecilie (ed.): Torgau - Stadt der Renaissance. Erschienen aus Anlass der 2. Sächsischen Landesausstellung in Torgau, [Schloß Hartenfels 24. May to 10 October 2004]. 2., revised Dresden 2004, p. 49–57, S. 53; Pérez d'Ors, Pablo: Dos Cacerás de Lucas Cranach el Viejo en el Museo del Prado. Nuevos datos sobre las dos escenas de caza: historia material, obras similares y claves para su interpretación iconográfica e iconológica. In: Boletín del Museo del Prado, vol. 23, 2008, p. 6–22, p. 8-10, 16.

[17] Among others: Schütz, Karl (1972): Lucas Cranach der Ältere und seine Werkstatt. Jubiläumsausstellung museumseigener Werke 1472 - 1972. Vienna 1972, Cat. 25.

[18] Pérez d'Ors, Pablo: Dos Cacerás de Lucas Cranach el Viejo en el Museo del Prado. Nuevos datos sobre las dos escenas de caza: historia material, obras similares y claves para su interpretación iconográfica e iconológica. In: Boletín del Museo del Prado, Vol. 23, 2005, p. 6–22, bes. p. 17-18; Schulze, Ingrid: Lucas Cranach d. J. und die protestantische Bildkunst in Sachsen und Thüringen. Frömmigkeit, Theologie, Fürstenreformation. 1. edition. Bucha bei Jena 2004 (Palmbaum-Texte, 13), p. 78-80.

[19] Matthias Müller makes reference to the regent ethics formulated in the contemporary ‚Mirrors for Princes‘ within the context oft he hunt. Müller, Matthias (2004): Das Schloß als Bild des Fürsten. Herrschaftliche Metaphorik in der Residenzarchitektur des Alten Reichs. Göttingen (Historische Semantik, 6), p. 348-349.

[Hoppe-Harnoncourt, Kunsthistorisches Museum, revised 2013]