Portrait of a peasant

Portrait of a peasant

Painting on laid paper

Medium

Painting on laid paper
brushwork flat and linear with translucent and opaque layers, over traces of black dry medium (chalk?); flesh tones: lead white, vermillion, red lake (?), ochre (?); hair: ochre; blue collar: copper-based blue pigment; red robe: red lake; cap: carbon black; green background: copper-based blue pigment mixed with yellow organic pigment and ochre (?); beard: black and white hairs applied over a brown underlayer; contour lines in brown

[cda 2026]

The watercolour depicts the head of a peasant; turned to half-right, wearing hat and beard.

[cda 2026]

Attributions
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Hofbauer 2010, 256, no. 117]; [Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, 280, no. 79]; [Exhib. Cat. Berlin, Basel 1997, no. 17.4]; [Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976, 688, no. 607]; [Schade 1974, no. 64]; [Winckler 1942, no. 42]; [Fischer 1937, 2]; [Wescher 1936, 370]

Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Rosenberg 1960, 36, A9]; [Girshausen 1936, 73]

Dating
about 1520 - 1525
about 1508

Dating

about 1520 - 1525

[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, 280, no. 79]

about 1508

[Fischer 1937, 2]

about 1515

[Schade 1974, no. 63]

about 1522

[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976, 688, no. 607]

Dimensions
Sheet: 190-192 x 154-156 mm

Dimensions

  • Sheet: 190-192 x 154-156 mm

  • [cda 2024]

Owner
Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel
Repository
Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel
Location
Basel
CDA ID
CH_KMB_1937-21
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/CH_KMB_1937-21/

Provenance

- from the Wittenberg family book belonging to a Herr von Goldbeck (maintained 1590 - 1593)

- acquired in 1937 by the Öffentliche Kunstsammlungen Basel, (Public Art Collections Basel, department of Prints and Drawings)

[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, 280, no. 79]

Exhibitions

Basel 1974, no. 607
Frankfurt, London 2007, no. 79

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Buck 2015 147-150 Fig. 6
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
Hofbauer 2010 256, 257 117 Fig. p. 257
AuthorMichael Hofbauer
TitleCranach - die Zeichnungen
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication2010
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007 280, 281 079 Fig. p. 281
EditorBodo Brinkmann
TitleCranach der Ältere, [Frankfurt, Städel Museum, 23.11.2007 - 17.02.2008]
Place of PublicationOstfildern
Year of Publication2007
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1997 17.4
EditorKupferstichkabinett, Basel, Gerhard Brunner, Kunstmuseum Basel
TitleDürer, Holbein, Grünewald. Meisterzeichnungen der deutschen Renaissance aus Berlin und Basel [Basel, Kunstmuseum, 14.05- 24.08.1997; Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 05.06-23.08.1998]
Place of PublicationBasel
Year of Publication1997
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976 688 607
AuthorDieter Koepplin, Tilman Falk
TitleLukas Cranach. Gemälde, Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik
Volume1, 2
Place of PublicationBasel, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1974
Link http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-diglit-104522
Show Literature
Schade 1974 063
AuthorWerner Schade
TitleDie Malerfamilie Cranach
Place of PublicationDresden
Year of Publication1974
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schade1974
Show Literature
Rosenberg 1960 36 A9
AuthorJakob Rosenberg
TitleDie Zeichnungen Lucas Cranachs d.Ä.
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1960
Link https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42777
Show Literature
Winkler 1942 A 042
AuthorFriedrich Horst Winkler
TitleDie Zeichnungen Hans Süss von Kulmbachs und Hans Leonhard Schäufeleins
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1942
Show Literature
Fischer 1937 2
AuthorOtto Fischer
TitleEin unbekanntes Aquarell von Cranach
JournalWeltkunst: Zeitschrift für Kunst und Antiquitäten
Issue11
Year of Publication1937
Pages2
Show Literature
Girshausen 1936 73
AuthorTheo Ludwig Girshausen
TitleDie Handzeichnungen Lukas Cranachs des Älteren
Place of PublicationFrankfurt/Main
Year of Publication1936
Link https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23708
Show Literature
Winkler 1936 A 151, Fn. 1
AuthorFriedrich Horst Winkler
TitleDie Bilder des Wiener Filocalus
JournalJahrbuch der Preußischen Kunstsammlungen
Issue57
Year of Publication1936
Pages141-155
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

'The watercolour was allegedly found in a Wittenberg family book (kept from 1590–1593), which also contained Cranach's drawing Hercules and Omphale (Berlin), a drawing by L. Cranach the Younger, and a watercoloured pen-and-ink drawing by Hans von Kulmbach.'

[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976, 688, no. 607] (translated from German, cda 2025)

'The watermark on the sheet – a raven's head in a shield – [...] is certainly from the paper mill in Freiburg im Breisgau, which was founded around 1514; Piccard specifies: ‘The characteristic shape of the shield and the distance between the vertical wires of the mould = c. 33 mm date the paper to a time frame: not before 1518, but between 1519 and 1522/23'.’

[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976, 688, no. 607] (translated from German, cda 2025)

  • Portrait of a peasant, about 1520 - 1525

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License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Technical studies

03.10.2024Scientific analysis

  • Instrumental material analysis

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) (Thermo Scientific - Niton XL3t GOLDD+)

The following elements were detected using XRF and in conjunction with their optical characteristics the following fillers, drawing media and colourants could be identified:

M1 Blue (robe):

Cu, (Fe); Cu: copper-based blue pigment (azurite); Fe: iron oxide (?)

M2 Red (robe):

Ca, (Cu), (Fe), (Pb), (Hg)?

Ca: chalk / gypsum / red lake (?); Cu: copper-based blue pigment (?)

M3 Green (background):

Ca, Cu, (Fe), (Pb)

Ca: chalk / gypsum / yellow organic pigment (?); Cu: copper-based blue pigment (microscopic blue pigment, few green pigment particles)

M4 Eyelid:

Ca, Pb, (Hg), (Fe), (Cu), (Ni)?, (W)?

Ca: chalk / gypsum (?); Pb: lead white; Hg: vermillion; Fe: iron oxide

M5 Eye:

Ca, (Fe), (Pb), (W)?

Ca: chalk / gypsum (?); Fe: iron oxide (?); lead white (?)

M6 Red (nose):

Ca, (Fe), (Pb), (Cu), (Hg)

Ca: chalk / gypsum / red lake (?); Fe: iron oxide (?); Pb: lead white (?); Cu: copper-based blue pigment (?), Hg: vermillion (?)

M7 Brown (hair):

Ca, (Fe), (Pb), (Cu)

Ca: chalk / gypsum / yellow organic pigment (?); Fe: iron oxide (?); Pb: lead white (?)

M8 Flesh paint:

Ca, Pb, (Fe), (Cu), (Hg), (Ni)?, (W)?

Ca: chalk / gypsum / red lake (?); Fe: iron oxide (?); Pb: lead white (?); Cu: copper-based blue pigment (?), Hg: vermillion (?)

M9 Black:

Ca, (Fe), (Cu), (Pb)

Ca: chalk / gypsum / bone black (?); Fe: iron oxide (?)

M10 Grey:

Ca, (Fe), (Cu), (Pb)

Ca: chalk / gypsum / bone black (?); Fe: iron oxide (?)

M11 Brown (beard)

Ca, Fe, (Pb), (Cu), (Hg), (Mn), (W)?

Ca: chalk / gypsum (?); Fe, Mn: iron oxide / ochre (?); Pb: lead white (?); Cu: copper-based blue pigment (?), Hg: vermillion (?)

M12 Cardboard support

Ca

Ca: chalk / gypsum (?)

[Gunnar Heydenreich, Sarah Critchley, unpublished analysis results, 03.10.2024]

2024Technical Examination

  • Watermark

Watermark: present

Watermark, motif: coat of arms (?)

Watermark, dimensions: -

[cda 2024]

2024Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Examination of paper / structural analysis

Support

Paper type: laid

Chain line, orientation to image: -

Chain lines (intervals): -

Laid lines (density): -

Mould side: verso

[cda 2024]

Process, Medium

Brushwork flat and linear with translucent and opaque layers, over traces of a dry, black medium (chalk?); flesh tones: lead white (XRF), vermillion (XRF), red lake (?), ochre (?, XRF); hair: ochre (XRF); blue collar: copper-based blue pigment (XRF); red robe: red lake; cap: carbon black; green background: copper-based blue pigment (XRF) mixed with yellow organic pigment and ochre (?); beard: black and white hairs applied over a brown underlayer (abraded in places), contour lines in brown, on laid paper; the sheet is unevenly trimmed on all four sides

[Thomas Klinke, Gunnar Heydenreich, cda 2026]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Portrait of a peasant', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/CH_KMB_1937-21/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Portrait of a peasant', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/CH_KMB_1937-21/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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