Water Nymph

Water Nymph

Title

Water Nymph

[Exhib. Cat. Bremen 2009, No. 33]

Painting on oak wood

Medium

Painting on oak wood

[Exhib. Cat. Bremen 2009, No. 33]

The nymph reclines on a lawn in front of an expansive landscape with a river. She rests on a red velvet cloth and wears only a transparent veil. She supports her head with her right arm and appears to sleep. A bow and quiver hang in a tree on the

The nymph reclines on a lawn in front of an expansive landscape with a river. She rests on a red velvet cloth and wears only a transparent veil. She supports her head with her right arm and appears to sleep. A bow and quiver hang in a tree on the right and she may thus be identified as Diana, the Goddess of Hunting. There is a pair of partridges in the bottom right corner.

[Görres, cda 2012]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Bremen 2009, No. 33]

Production date
after 1537

Production date

after 1537

[Exhib. Cat. Bremen 2009, No. 33]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 34.3 x 56 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 34.3 x 56 cm

  • [Exhib. Cat. Bremen 2009, No. 33]

  • Dimensions including frame: 61 cm x 82.5 cm x 7 cm

  • [Julia Tholen, paintings conservator Kunsthalle Bremen, June 2012]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia on the rocky outcrop: winged serpent with elevated wings

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia on the rocky outcrop: winged serpent with elevated wings

  • [Exhib. Cat. Bremen 2009, No. 33]

Inscriptions and Labels
  • in a text block, top left:
    'FONTIS NYMPHA SACRI SOMNVM
    NE RVMPE QVIESCO' Reverse of the panel:
    paper label: …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • in a text block, top left:

  • 'FONTIS NYMPHA SACRI SOMNVM

  • NE RVMPE QVIESCO'

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of the panel:

  • paper label: 'Cranach-Ausstellung 1937, Deutsches Museum Berlin, Paris, Bacri Frères, Antiquaires, 141, Boulevard Haussmann, Quellnymphe'

  • in chalk: '38 Bacri 5'

  • stamp: 'Eigentum der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'

  • in pencil: 'Lucas Cranach, M. Wu (...)' (illegible)

  • 5 red seals are located beneath the coating on the reverse of the panel. Illegible.

  • [Kunsthalle Bremen, revised 2012]

Owner
Federal Republic of Germany
Repository
Kunsthalle Bremen - Der Kunstverein in Bremen
Location
Bremen
CDA ID
DE_BRD-KHB_935-1966-7
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_BRD-KHB_935-1966-7/

Provenance

  • Jacques Bacri, Paris (art market, France)[1]
  • Josef Angerer, Berlin 1938 (art market, Germany)[1]
  • [Gift from the German Airforce (Dt. Luftwaffe) to Göring, 04.11.1938][1]
  • Central Collecting Point [1]
  • September 1949 handed over by the american allies to the german authorities [1]
  • since 1966 on loan to the Kunsthalle Bremen from the Federal Republic of Germany

[1]Göring Collection, DHM database:
http://www.dhm.de/datenbank/goering/dhm_goering.php?seite=5&fld_0=RMG00475

[Exhib. Cat. Bremen 2009, No. 33]

Exhibitions

  • Bremen 1979, No. 159
  • Bremen 2009, No. 33

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Cat. Coburg 2018 88, fn. 3, 92 under no. 15
AuthorKlaus Weschenfelder
TitleCranach 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 PublicationRegensburg
Year of Publication2018
Show Literature
Buschhoff 2011 27
EditorAnne Buschhoff
TitleKunsthalle Bremen. Museumsführer
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2011
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Bremen 2009 33
EditorRainer Stamm
TitleLucas Cranach der Schnellste
Place of PublicationBremen
Year of Publication2009
Show Literature
Herzogenrath, Lähnemann 2009 68 71, 227
EditorWulf Herzogenrath, Ingmar Lähnemann
TitleNoble Gäste. Meisterwerke der Kunsthalle Bremen in 22 deutschen Museen
Place of PublicationBremen
Year of Publication2009
Show Literature
Matsche 2007 159-203
AuthorFranz Matsche
Title"Nympha super ripam Danubii". Cranachs Quellnymphen und ihr Vorbild
Publicationin Andreas Tacke, ed., Lucas Cranach 1553/2003. Wittenberger Tagungsbeiträge anlässlich des 450. Todesjahres Lucas Cranachs des Älteren
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication2007
Pages159-203
Show Literature
Cat. Bremen 1998 10 p. 11
EditorKunsthalle Bremen - Der Kunstverein in Bremen
TitleMeisterwerke. Gemälde, Skulpturen und Neue Medien
Volume1
Place of PublicationBremen
Year of Publication1998
Show Literature
Herzogenrath, Westh. 1998 17 p. 19
AuthorWulf Herzogenrath, Ortrud Westheider
TitleKunsthalle Bremen, Gemäldegalerie, Kupferstichkabinett und Neue Medien
SeriesMuseen, Schlösser und Denkmäler in Deutschland
Place of PublicationAntwerp
Year of Publication1998
Show Literature
Cat. Bremen 1994 241
AuthorAndreas Kreul
TitleKunsthalle Bremen - Gemälde-Verzeichnis
Place of PublicationWiesbaden
Year of Publication1994
Show Literature
Janssen 1991
AuthorMarianne Janssen
TitleDie Quellnymphen Lucas Cranachs des Älteren
Place of PublicationOldenburg
IssueMagisterarbeit (unpublished)
Year of Publication1991
Show Literature
Cat. Bremen 1990 105-106
AuthorCorinna Höper
TitleKatalog der Gemälde des 14. bis 18. Jahrhunderts in der Kunsthalle Bremen
Place of PublicationBremen
Year of Publication1990
Show Literature
Schweers 1981-1982 180
AuthorHans F. Schweers
TitleGemälde in deutschen Museen
Volume1
Place of PublicationMunich, New York, London
Year of Publication1981
Show Literature
Busch 1980 22 p. 2
AuthorGünter Busch
TitleKunsthalle Bremen
SeriesMuseum
Place of PublicationBraunschweig
Year of Publication1980
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Bremen 1979 156
AuthorGerhard Gehrkens
TitleDer nackte Mensch - Aspekte der Aktdarstellung in der Kunst
Place of PublicationBremen
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976 421-432
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
Busch, Schultze 1973 13
AuthorGünter Busch, Jürgen Schultze
TitleMeisterwerke der Kunsthalle Bremen
Place of PublicationBremen
Year of Publication1973
Show Literature
Cat. Oslo 1973 under No. 832
EditorNasjonalgalleriet, Oslo
TitleKatalog over utenlandsk malerkunst, Nationalgalleriet Oslo
Place of PublicationOslo
Year of Publication1973
Show Literature
  • Water Nymph, after 1537

Images

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Technical studies

06. 2012Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • Stereomicroscopy
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail

Support

- oak

- the panel consists of two horizontal planks

- width of the panels: 7.6 cm and 26.5 cm

- the wider plank exhibits almost raised annual rings

- tow application

- a white protective coating was applied to the reverse over the red seals

- the format has not been altered

- there is a rebate 4-10mm in width and 4mm in depth with remains of a brittle animal glue running along the edges of the panel on the reverse. This rebate is not original.

- An don the recto there is a narrow rebate maximal 2 mm in width in the left and right sides

Ground and Imprimatura

- white ground, presumably a glue/chalk mixture

- applied to the edge of the panel or the edge of the rebate

- there is no barb present

- an imprimatura is not visible

Underdrawing

- an underdrawing is not readily visible

- faint traces of black pigments along the contours might suggest the use of charcoal

- incised lines above and below the text (top left) marking the boundary

Paint Layers and Gilding

- a brushed paint application, for the most part in layers of glazing. In part the paint is mixed and applied as an opaque layer (plants)

- the paint application is very thin , particularly in the area of the water and the rocky outcrop, here the light ground is employed to create the colour effect

- isolated cases of wet-in-wet blended paint application are also visible (bush on the left)

- in addition the paint was dabbed on in the area of the tree trunks or the leaves

- the details (hair, jewellery, architecture) are executed employing very fine brushstrokes

- isolated use of impasto (jewellery, leaves, blades of grass)

Framing

the frame is a construction made out of an old and new frame.

The inner, older frame is gilded and decorated with painted ornamentation

This frame is surrounded by a younger, black profiled frame.

Dimensions: 61 cm x 82.5 cm x 7 cm

[Julia Tholen, Paintings Conservator, Kunsthalle Bremen, June 2012]

10. 2010Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid, black medium and brush; dry drawing material, dark chalk?

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing

- thin lines

Function:

- binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe the essential details; no representation of volume

Deviations:

- minor alterations made during the painting process to clearly define form; changes (e.g. direction of the Nymph’s gaze)

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- workshop?

Comments:

- dark chalk lines defining form are readily visible (feet, chest)

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2012]

  • photographed by Ingo Sandner
  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich

Condition Reports

Date06. 2012 -

  • old exit-holes from woodworm are located along the glued join. No longer active.

  • the panel exhibts a slight convex warp

  • there are numerous small losses, scratches and dents scattered over the entire picture plane. On the ahole this damage is located beneath the varnish.

  • the paint layers exhibit a fine network of craquelée

  • the coating on the reverse also covers the exit-holes and the seals and is therefore not original.

  • as the coating also covers the rebate on the reverse it may be assumed that this is not original [?]

  • there are numerous discoloured retouchings on the flesh paint

[Julia Tholen, Paintings Conservator, Kunsthalle Bremen, June 2012]

Date2011

  • a white protective coating has been applied to the reverse over a red wax seal
  • written by Gunnar Heydenreich

Conservation History

Date2008

  • 2008 a micro-climate box was made for the painting to protect the delicate panel from fluctuating environmental conditions

[Julia Tholen, Paintings Conservator, Kunsthalle Bremen , June 2012]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Water Nymph', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_BRD-KHB_935-1966-7/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Water Nymph', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_BRD-KHB_935-1966-7/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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