Portrait of Friedrich III. the Wise, Elector of Saxony

Portrait of Friedrich III. the Wise, Elector of Saxony

Painting on limewood (Tilia sp.)

Medium

Painting on limewood (Tilia sp.)

[Klein, Report 2013]
[Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 126]

The portrait depicts the III. Elector of Saxony and imperial governor after he was awarded the title of an imperial arch-marschall. Cranach painted the portrait for the Dominican church in Nuremberg. The elector is shown as a half-length figure kneeling on a prayer stool, holding rosary beads and facing right.

The portrait depicts the III. Elector of Saxony and imperial governor after he was awarded the title of an imperial arch-marschall. Cranach painted the portrait for the Dominican church in Nuremberg. The elector is shown as a half-length figure kneeling on a prayer stool, holding rosary beads and facing right. His eyes, hair and beard are brown. He wears a gold brocade overcoat with a broad collar, which extends over his shoulders and a golden cap. The dual coloured sleeves are decorated with knotted gold cord. The rosary beads are golden and he has seven rings on his fingers. The prayer stool upon which a book rests is covered with the same material as that of his overcoat. The background, which was originally green is now brown.

[http://forschung.gnm.de/apps/dmsweb2/index.php?mode=detail&invnr=Gm223 (06.09.2010)]

[Display label, GNM 2010]

Attributions
Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Heydenreich 2007 A, 67, 133-134]

'Nach Lucas Cranach der Ältere'
[Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 126]

[Koepplin 1974, No. 32][1]
[Lutze, Wiegand, Cat. Nuremberg 1936/1937, 45][1]
[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932, No. 57][1]

[1][Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 128]

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

(?) [Exhib. Cat. Düsseldorf 2017, 116, No. 14]

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Weiland 2007, 43- 74]
[Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 128]

Wolf Traut

[Loßnitzer 1912, 8][1]

[1][Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 128]

Lucas Cranach the Elder (or workshop)

[Braune, Cat. Nuremberg 1909][1]
[Flechsig 1900 A][1]
[Reber, Bayersdorfer, Cat. Nuremberg 1882][1]

[1][Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 128]

Hans Burgkmair

[Waagen 1843, 161][1]

[1][Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 128]

Hans von Kulmbach

[Heller, handwritten inventory 1817 and 1819][1]

[1][Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 128]

Production dates
1507 - 1508 or about 1550 - 1599
about 1510-1513

Production dates

1507 - 1508 or about 1550 - 1599

" 2. Hälfte d. 16. Jahrhundert"
[Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 126]

about 1510-1513

[Exhib. Cat. Düsseldorf 2017, 116, No. 14]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 111.5 x 88.3 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 111.5 x 88.3 cm

  • [Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 126]

Signature / Dating

None

Inscriptions and Labels
  • bottom: Four lines in gothic script:
    'Von gnaden gots Fridrich hertzog zu Sa=/ chssen des heiligen Reichs Ertzmarschalh un(d) …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • bottom:
  • Four lines in gothic script:

  • 'Von gnaden gots Fridrich hertzog zu Sa=/ chssen des heiligen Reichs Ertzmarschalh un(d) Cur / furst Landgrave in doringe(n) und Marggrave zu / Meyssen Romischer k M un(d) des R Stathalter general'

  • 'The text block is evidently from a later date. It has a greenish black background and is separated from the area of the portrait by a horizontal boarder which is 3.5 to 4 cm wide and has a matte gold finish. This boarder was later overpainted in blackish green. The text was executed using guidelines with a scribe's brush in paint containing lead yellow. The paint was applied to the wet background paint, which resulted in the formation of paint drips. The inscription may have been carried out in situ.'

  • [Bartl, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 127]

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of the panel: in white paint 'G 223'

  • paper label: 'Nr. 259'

  • stencilled 'Stadt Nürnberg, No. 72'

  • Reverse of the frame:

  • paper label: Cranach-Ausst. Basel 1974, Nr. 32

  • [Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 126]

Owner
The City of Nuremberg
Repository
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg
Location
Nuremberg
CDA ID
DE_GNMN_Gm223
FR (1978) Nr.
FR064A
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_GNMN_Gm223/

Provenance

Loan from the City of Nuremberg, Inv. No. 7

  • from the Dominican monastery in Nuremberg, where it was recorded until 1807
  • from 1811 in the castle, Inventory 1819, No. 486
  • 1882 GNM
    [Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 126]

Exhibitions

Nuremberg 1959, No. 42
Basel 1974, No. 32, Fig. 31
Nuremberg 1983, No. 247 with Fig.
Düsseldorf 2017, No. 14

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Düsseldorf 2017 116 No. 14
EditorGunnar Heydenreich, Daniel Görres, Beat Wismer
TitleLucas 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 PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2017
Hess, Mack 2017
AuthorDaniel Hess, Oliver Mack
TitleFriedrich der Weise als Reichsstatthalter: Zum Nürnberger Bildnis aus der Dominikanerkirche
Publicationin Gunnar Heydenreich, Daniel Görres, Beat Wismer, eds., Lucas Cranach der Ältere. Meister - Marke - Moderne. [Exhib. Cat. Düsseldorf 2017]
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2017
Pages52-57
Heydenreich 2017 A 77
AuthorGunnar Heydenreich
TitleCranach? Fragen der Zuschreibung im Lichte kunsttechnologischer Untersuchungen
Publicationin Gunnar Heydenreich, Daniel Görres, Beat Wismer, eds., Lucas Cranach der Ältere. Meister - Marke - Moderne. [Exhib. Cat. Düsseldorf 2017]
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2017
Link https://lucascranach.org/application/files/7316/7870/1704/Heydenreich_2017_Cranach_Fragen_der_Zuschreibung.pdf
Pages72-81
Trümper 2015 18, 19 Fig. 2
AuthorTimo Trümper
TitleInszenierungsstrategien der Ernestiner
Publicationin Julia Carrasco, Justus Lange, Benjamin D. Spira, Timo Trümper, Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein Gotha and Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel, eds., Bild und Botschaft. Cranach im Dienst von Hof und Reformation, [Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel]
Place of PublicationHeidelberg
Year of Publication2015
Pages17-28
Cat.Hess, Hirschfelder, Bär 2010 414-415 Fig. 437
AuthorFrank Bär
EditorDaniel Hess, Dagmar Hirschfelder, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg
TitleRenaissance. Barock. Aufklärung. Kunst und Kultur vom 16. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert
SeriesDie Schausammlungen des Germanischen Nationalmuseums
Volume3
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication2010
Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010 127
EditorBozarbooks & Lannoo, Guido Messling
TitleDie Welt des Lucas Cranach. Ein Künstler im Zeitalter von Dürer, Tizian und Metsys [anlässlich der Ausstellung "Die Welt des Lucas Cranach", Palast der Schönen Künste, Brüssel, 20. Oktober 2010 - 23. Januar 2011]
Place of PublicationBrussels
Year of Publication2010
Hansmann 2010 51 Fig. 3
AuthorRuth Hansmann
Title"Als haben wir angesehen unser dieners und lieben getreuen Lucas von Cranach Ehrbarkeit, Kunst und Redlichkeit" Lucas Cranach als neu bestallter Hofmaler in kursächsischen Diensten
Publicationin: Apelles am Fürstenhof. Facetten der Hofkunst um 1500 im Alten Reich Exhib. Cat. Coburg 2010
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication2010
Pages45-55
Heydenreich 2007 A 67, 133-134
AuthorGunnar Heydenreich
TitleLucas Cranach the Elder
Place of PublicationAmsterdam
Year of Publication2007
Link https://lucascranach.org/application/files/6116/2097/3099/Heydenreich_2007_Lucas_Cranach_the_Elder.pdf
Koepplin 2007 A 309
AuthorDieter Koepplin
TitleKurfürst Friedrich der Weise mit der nicht millionenschweren Kaiserkrone in der Hand
Publicationin Andreas Tacke, ed., Lucas Cranach 1553/2003. Wittenberger Tagungsbeiträge anlässlich des 450. Todesjahres Lucas Cranachs des Älteren
SeriesSchriften der Stiftung Luthergedenkstätten in Sachsen-Anhalt
Volume7
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication2007
Pages299-312
Weilandt 2007 43-74
AuthorGerhard Weilandt
TitleDer Fürst beim Gebet. Das erste Porträt Friedrichs des Weisen von Lucas Cranach im sakralen und politischen Kontext
Publicationin Andreas Tacke, ed., Lucas Cranach 1553-2003.Wittenberger Tagungsbeiträge anlässlich des 450. Todestages Lucas Cranachs des Älteren [Leipzig, 2007]
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication2007
Pages43-74
Burmester, Krekel 1998 86
AuthorAndreas Burmester, C. Krekel
TitleVon Dürers Farben
Publicationin Gisela Goldberg, Bruno Heimberg, Martin Schawe, eds., Albrecht Dürer. Die Gemälde der Alten Pinakothek, Cat. Munich, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication1998
Burmester, Krekel 1998 B 102
AuthorAndreas Burmester, C. Krekel
TitleThe relationship between Albrecht Dürer's palette and fifteenth/sixteenth-century pharmacy price lists: the use of azurite and ultramarine
Publicationin Ashok Roy and Perry Smith, eds., Painting techniques, history, materials and studio practice, Contributions to the Dublin IIC Congress, 7-11 September 1998, London 1998
Place of PublicationLondon
Year of Publication1998
Cat. Nuremberg 1997 126-129
AuthorKurt Löcher
TitleDie Gemälde des 16. Jahrhunderts. Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg
Place of PublicationOstfildern-Ruit
Year of Publication1997
Exhib. Cat. Nuremberg 1983 No. 247
EditorGerhard Bott
TitleMartin Luther und die Reformation in Deutschland. Ausstellung zum 500. Geburtstag Martin Luthers
Place of PublicationFrankfurt a. M.
Year of Publication1983
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 82 No. 64A
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976 82, 87, 488 032 Fig. 31
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
Cat. Nuremberg 1936/1937 45 Fig. 374
AuthorEberhard Lutze, Eberhard Wiegand
TitleKataloge des Germanischen Nationalmuseums zu Nürnberg. Die Gemälde des 13.-16. Jahrhunderts
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1937
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 No. 57 (mentioned)
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1932
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932
Gümbel 1926 47, 49
AuthorAlbert Grümbel
TitleDer Kursächsische Kämmerer Degenhart von Pfeffingen, der Begleiter Dürers auf der 'Marter der zehntausend Christen'
SeriesStudien zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte
Volume238
Place of PublicationStrasbourg
Year of Publication1926
Bock 1924 199
AuthorFriedrich Bock
TitleDas Nürnberger Predigerkloster. Beiträge zu seiner Geschichte
JournalMitteilungen des Vereins für Geschichte der Stadt Nürnberg
IssueHeft 25
Year of Publication1924
Pages145-213
Glaser 1923 226
AuthorCurt Glaser
TitleLukas Cranach
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1923
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/glaser1923
Reinach 1905-1923 637 Fig. 2
AuthorSalomon Reinach
TitleRépertoire de peintures du Moyen age et de la Renaissance 1280-1580
Volume1-6
Place of PublicationParis
Year of Publication1923
Loßnitzer 1912 8 Fig. 3
AuthorMax Loßnitzer
TitleDie frühesten Bildnisse Kurfürst Friedrichs des Weisen
JournalMitteilungen aus den Sächsischen Kunstsammlungen
IssueJg. 3
Year of Publication1912
Pages8-18
Cat. Nuremberg 1909 223
AuthorHeinz Braune
TitleKatalog der Gemälde-Sammlung des Germanischen Nationalmuseums in Nürnberg
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication1909
Michaelson 1902 26
AuthorHedwig Michaelson
TitleLukas Cranach der Ältere. Untersuchung über die stilistische Entwicklung seiner Kunst
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1902
Flechsig 1900 A 26
AuthorEduard Flechsig
TitleCranachstudien
Volume1
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1900
Link page/n5/mode/2up
Cat. Nuremberg 1893 No. 269
AuthorAugust von Essenwein, Adolf Bayersdorfer, Franz von Reber
TitleKatalog der im germanischen Museum befindlichen Gemälde
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication1893
Cat. Nuremberg 1885 No. 238
AuthorAugust von Essenwein, Adolf Bayersdorfer, Franz von Reber
TitleKatalog der im germanischen Museum befindlichen Gemälde
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication1885
Cat. Nuremberg 1882 No. 233
AuthorAugust von Essenwein, Adolf Bayersdorfer, Franz von Reber
TitleKatalog der im germanischen Museum befindlichen Gemälde
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication1882
Waagen 1862 257
AuthorGustav Friedrich Waagen
TitleDie deutschen und niederländischen Malerschulen, Handbuch der Geschichte der Malerei
Volume1
Place of PublicationStuttgart
Year of Publication1862
Heller 1854 89
AuthorJoseph Heller
TitleLucas Cranach's Leben und Werke
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication1854
Link http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015062799757
Rettberg 1846 163
AuthorRalf Leopold von Rettberg
TitleNürnberger Briefe (zur Geschichte der Kunst)
Place of PublicationHannover
Year of Publication1846
Waagen 1843 161
AuthorGustav Friedrich Waagen
TitleKunstwerke und Künstler im Erzgebirge und in Franken
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1843
Heller 1821 215
AuthorJoseph Heller
TitleVersuch über das Leben und die Werke Lucas Cranachs
Place of PublicationBamberg
Year of Publication1821
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/heller1821
Murr 1801 77
AuthorChristoph Gottlieb von Murr
TitleBeschreibung der vornehmsten Merkwürdigkeiten in der Reichsstadt Nürnberg, in deren Bezirke und auf der Universität Altdorf
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication1801
Schwarz 1737 14
AuthorJohann Jakob Schwarz
TitleBeschreibung und Abzeichnung aller in der Dominikanerkirche befindlichen Monumente, [Handschrift in der Stadtsbibliothek Nürnberg, Kopie in der Bibliothek des Germanischen Nationalmuseums]
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication1737
  • Portrait of Friedrich III. the Wise, Elector of Saxony, 1507 - 1508 or about 1550 - 1599

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse
  • irr
  • irr
  • irr
  • x_radiograph
  • detail
  • detail
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  • detail
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Technical studies

08.04.2013Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Identification of wood species: limewood (Tilia sp.)

  • analysed by Peter Klein

09. 2010Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

- an underdrawing is not readily visible

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2012]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

2007Technical Examination

Support

'Dovetailed cross-battens inserted on the reverse of the support were not an option for the thin panels of the early Wittenberg years. From that period, only the Martyrdom of St Catherine (c.1508), already discussed, and the portrait of Elector Friedrich III the Wise (FR 64A) are stabilised in this way. There is controversy as to whether this portrait of the elector is, in fact, a work of Lucas Cranach the Elder. It has been referred to repeatedly as a copy made in the late sixteenth century.[130] Since the panel differs considerably in the widths of the boards, in their thickness and the treatment of the back,[131] and considering secure attributions and well-documented works, this support was most probably not produced in the workshop of the carpenter who supplied Cranach with panels up to 1510/11 (see pp. 133-134).'

[Heydenreich 2007 A, 67]

2007Technical examination / Scientific analysis

'The use of orpiment in the Wittenberg workshop is by no means certain. As yet the only analytical evidence of yellow arsenic sulphide is established on the portrait of Elector Friedrich III the Wise (FR 64A),[32] but unfortunately its authenticity as a Cranach is justifiably disputed. The result of the analysis as well as the fact that the support is unusual for Cranach (see p. 67) tends to substantiate the hypothesis that this painting is a later copy.[33]'

[Heydenreich 2007 A, 133-34]

1998Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Micro-sampling / cross-sections
  • Instrumental material analysis

Burmester and Krekel identified orpiment:

Only Lucas Cranach employed Auripigment[216]

[216] Lucas Cranach the Elder, Portrait of Friedrich the Wise, about 1507 (Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg, Inv.No. Gm223 [DE_GNMN_Gm223_FR064A])

[Burmester, Krekel 1998 A, 86]

1997Scientific analysis

  • Micro-sampling / cross-sections
  • Instrumental material analysis

Inscription:

- analysis was carried out by Achim Unger, Rathgen Forschungslabor, Berlin, employing optical emission-spectral-analysis

- x-ray diffraction analysis carried out in the Doerner Institut Munich enabled the identification of lead tin yellow (Pb2SnO4) and tin oxide

[Bartl, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 127]

1997Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology
  • Infrared reflectography
  • Stereomicroscopy
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail

Support

- limewood (Tilia sp.)

- 3 boards

- widths from the left: top 31.9, 29.9, 26.2 cm, bottom 28.2, 29.7, 30.4 cm

- 2.3 – 2.8 cm thick

- the knots have been left in the wood

- original size

- all four front edges of the panel were probably finished with a scraper

Reverse:

- scraped in a horizontal direction

- there is a rebate around the edge

Ground and Imprimatura

- the ground was applied and the panel was painted before it was framed

- light red imprimatura

Underdrawing

- executed with a brush

- in the face and the right hand there are scant contours visible

Paint Layers and Gilding

- the paint in the face was applied wet-in-wet, dabbed on and modelled with the finger

- the left contours of the face were altered during the painting process

- the top glazes of green background have become brown, probably at a later stage

- the original corrections along the edge between the beard and the fur as well as in the background have darkened

- the oil gilding on the cap, overcoat, rings, rosary beads and the cloth on the prayerstool was applied over a transparent brownish adhesive

[Bartl, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 127]

1994Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • X-radiography
  • x_radiograph

Condition Reports

Date1997

Support:

  • the edge of the panel extending to the bottom right corner is damaged

  • old wood worm damage

  • two pine wood profiled battens are fixed in dovetail grooves on the reverse to stabilize the panel, at the top and bottom respectively

Painted surface:

  • there is both damage caused by impact and scraping 36 cm above the bottom edge

  • there is an old cleaning test at the top right

  • broad scratch on the forehead as well as numerous small losses in the face and neck, which have been retouched

  • there is overpaint along the right edge, the decorative elements have been reconstructed in dark green and brown glazes

  • the infrared refectogram and the x-radiograph show later additions in the ground and black paint, especially in the area of the gold boarder. This was later overpainted with a matt black paint. The lettering has been partially reconstructed and the rebate has been reinforced.

[Bartl, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 127]

Conservation History

Date1959

as yet no further information

[Bartl, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 127]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Portrait of Friedrich III. the Wise, Elector of Saxony', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_GNMN_Gm223/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Portrait of Friedrich III. the Wise, Elector of Saxony', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_GNMN_Gm223/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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