The Judgement of Paris

Title

[CDA 2011]

Painting on beech wood (probably)

Medium

Painting on beech wood (probably)	[Heydenreich, cda 2010]
Lime wood	[Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1937, no. 70]

Paris is depicted wearing knight's armor, sitting on a stone on the left side of the painting. Mercury stands beside him dressed in make-believe armor and introduces him to the three Goddess's. They present themselves as nudes in different poses, wearing only transparent veils and chains. The central figure (Venus?), who looks out of the painting also wears a wide brimmed hat. Paris has tied his horse to a tree behind him. There are dense forests in the middle distance and on the right there is a tree with a coat-of-arms. A castle hill and a town are depicted in the landscape behind. Cupid is in a cloud and targets the group with his bow and arrow.

[Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, revised 2011]

Attributions: Lucas Cranach the Elder (and workshop)
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Elder (and workshop)	[Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, revised 2011]
Lucas Cranach the Elder	[Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1937, no. 70]

Production date: 1528

Production date

1528

[dated]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 84.7 x 57 x 0.55 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 84.7 x 57 x 0.55 cm
(thinned and cradled; almost the original size)
[Heydenreich, cda 2010]

Signature / Dating: Artist's insignia bottom right on the stone: winged serpent with elevated wings, facing left and dated '1528'; in black paint

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia bottom right on the stone: winged serpent with elevated wings, facing left and dated '1528'; in black paint
[cda 2011]

Inscriptions and Labels: Reverse of the panel:
printed paper label: 'ÖFFENTLICHE KUNSTSAMMLUNG BASEL/ coat-of-arms/ Inv. Nr., [handwritten entry] G 1977.37. ,

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

Reverse of the panel:
printed paper label: 'ÖFFENTLICHE KUNSTSAMMLUNG BASEL/ coat-of-arms/ Inv. Nr., [handwritten entry] G 1977.37. ,[black ink] LUCAS CRANACH d. Ae. (1472-1528)/ Das Urteil des Paris. 1528./ Schenkung M. u. R. von Hirsch, Basel. [type written in black ink]'
printed paper label: 'CRANACH-AUSSTELLUNG 1937/ Deutsches Museum Berlin, [type written in black ink] Berlin, Ministerpräsident/ Göring, abgeholt bei Frl./ Fritsch/ Parisurteil'
handwritten in blue pencil: '84/56'
in pencil: '5546'; '55/85'
[Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, revised 2011]

Owner: Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel
Repository: Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel
Location: Basel

CDA ID: CH_KMB_G1977-37
FR (1978) Nr.: FR253
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/CH_KMB_G1977-37/

Provenance

from c. 1936 in the Göring Collection
31.08.1954.08.31 returned to R. v. Hirsch [1]
a bequest from Martha and Robert von Hirsch, Basel 1977
[1][Göring Collection, DHM database, no longer online, 04.01.2021]
(http://www.dhm.de/datenbank/goering/dhm_goering.php?seite=5&fld_0=RMG00471)
[Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, revised 2011]

Exhibitions

Berlin 1937, no. 70
Düsseldorf 2017, no. 132

Literature

Reference on page

Catalogue Number

Figure / Plate

Cat. Coburg 2018

32, 34

under no. 1

Author	Klaus Weschenfelder
Title	Cranach in Coburg. Gemälde von Lucas Cranach d.Ä., Lucas Cranach d.J., der Werkstatt und des Umkreises in den Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg
Place of Publication	Regensburg
Year of Publication	2018

Show Literature

Bonnet 2017

132

Author	Anne-Marie Bonnet
Title	Lucas Cranach der Ältere als Primus inter Pares - Competitio et aemulatio in der deutschen Aktmalerei
Publication	in Gunnar Heydenreich, Daniel Görres, Beat Wismer, eds., Lucas Cranach der Ältere. Meister - Marke - Moderne. [Exhib. Cat. Düsseldorf 2017]
Place of Publication	Munich
Year of Publication	2017
Pages	38-43

Show Literature

Exhib. Cat. Düsseldorf 2017

231

No. 132

Editor	Gunnar Heydenreich, Daniel Görres, Beat Wismer
Title	Lucas Cranach der Ältere. Meister - Marke - Moderne. [anlässlich der Ausstellung "Cranach. Meister - Marke - Moderne", Stiftung Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, 08. April 2017 - 30. Juli 2017]
Place of Publication	Munich
Year of Publication	2017

Show Literature

Sandner, Heydenreich, Smith-Contini 2015

134, Fn. 36

Author	Gunnar Heydenreich, Ingo Sandner, Helen Smith-Contini
Title	Veränderungen beim Unterzeichnen in Cranachs Werkstatt und die Arbeitsweise von Sohn Lucas
Publication	in Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of Publication	Munich
Year of Publication	2015
Link	https://lucascranach.org/application/files/5215/6337/7366/Heydenreich_Sandner_Smith-Contini_2015_-_Unterzeichnung.pdf
Pages	128-141

Show Literature

Hinz 2010 B

Author	Berthold Hinz
Title	Aktmalerei bei Cranach. Ein neuer Geschäftszweig
Publication	in Guido Messling, ed., Die Welt des Lucas Cranach. Ein Künstler im Zeitalter von Dürer, Tizian und Metsys, Exhib. Cat. Brussels
Place of Publication	Brussels
Year of Publication	2010
Pages	42-53

Show Literature

Koepplin 2003 B

51-56

Author	Dieter Koepplin
Title	Neue Werke von Lukas Cranach und ein altes Bild einer polnischen Schlacht - von Hans Krell?
Place of Publication	Basel
Year of Publication	2003

Show Literature

Francini, Heuss, Kreis 2001

341

Author	Esther Tisa Francini, Anja Heuss, Georg Kreis
Editor	Unabhängigen Expertenkommission Schweiz-Zweiter Weltkrieg
Title	Fluchtgut - Raubgut: Der Transfer von Kulturgütern in und über die Schweiz 1933-1945 und die Frage der Restitution
Volume	1
Place of Publication	Zurich
Year of Publication	2001

Show Literature

Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1937

070

Pl. 64

Editor	Staatliche Museen, Berlin
Title	Lucas Cranach d. Ä. und Lucas Cranach d. J. Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Graphik
Place of Publication	Berlin
Year of Publication	1937

Show Literature

The Judgement of Paris, 1528

Images

Technical studies

06. 2011Technical examination / Scientific analysis

X-radiography

created by Kunstmuseum Basel

05. 2011Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Support

- beech wood (?), identified by sight by Dieter Marti (carpenter)

- no knots are visible; the manner in which the planks were cut cannot be clearly identified

- two vertical planks, butt joined

- dimensions of the planks from left to right:

top: 24.7 x 32.3 = 57.0

bottom: 23.0 x 33.5 = 56.5

- there is no evidence to indicate that the joins were originally reinforced; on the reverse the joins are covered by the battens from the cradle

- top edge reverse: remains of an application of tow and fabric visible (this originally covered the entire reverse of the panel?)

- reverse thinned and smoothed

- beveled along the top and bottom edge

- a 1 cm band along the edges of the panel was thinned possibly to fix the panel in a frame(?), but it is not clear whether this is original

- original size

Ground and Imprimatura

- no examination or analysis has been carried out

- light ground

- the barbe from the ground is present on three sides (left, right and top completely retained, bottom edge has been sanded down or has broken away)

- there are no incised lines visible in raking light

- airbubbles visible along the edge of the ground

- no imprimatura visible

Paint Layers and Gilding

- green hill in the background: ocher paint underlaid with glazes

- bushes, trees and grass: dark brown paint, thin application, which sometimes appears stripey; subsequent layers are in different shades of green

- the paint is generally applied employing brushstrokes except in the foliage where it was dabbed on

- on the whole the paint was applied as a thin glaze eg. the stone in the bottom left corner; only the foliage is worked up with a thicker application of paint

- remains of a painted black boarder around the edge of the painting; in places it covers the barbe

- no fingerprints could be found

- no alterations are visible with the naked eye

Framing

- new frame

- 108 x 81cm

- italian, gilded

written by Sophie Eichner

03. 2010Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Infrared reflectography

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- possibly a dry drawing material, dark chalk; probably in combination with a fluid medium and brush

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing in the background

- thin lines

Function:

- binding for the central composition of the final painted version; less binding in the background; lines (where visible) delineate contours; no representation of volume

Deviations:

- minor alterations made during the painting process clearly define form, particularly in the background

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Lucas Cranach the Younger ?

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2012]

photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
photographed by Ingo Sandner

03. 2010Technical examination / Scientific analysis

UV-light photography

photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich

Condition Reports

Date05. 2011

Support:

the panel exhibits a slightly convexed warp
thinned and brought into plane with a cradle consisting of oak wood battens
old woodworm damage, open channels visible on the reverse

Painted surface:

numerous old scratches and damage to the paint surface
old losses in the paint and varnish layers
discoloured retouchings

written by Sophie Eichner

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'The Judgement of Paris', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/CH_KMB_G1977-37/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'The Judgement of Paris', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/CH_KMB_G1977-37/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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