Portrait of Nikolaus Seidel, Mayor of Annaberg

Portrait of Nikolaus Seidel, Mayor of Annaberg

Title

Portrait of Nikolaus Seidel, Mayor of Annaberg

[Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 258]

Painting on limewood (Tilia sp.)

Medium

Painting on limewood (Tilia sp.)

[Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 258]

Half-length portrait facing right against a green background. Seidel has blue-grey eyes, and his beard and hair are white. The top of his head is bald. He wears a dark gown. The sleeves are attached with silk bands with ferruled ends and he has a leather belt with a buckle

Half-length portrait facing right against a green background. Seidel has blue-grey eyes, and his beard and hair are white. The top of his head is bald. He wears a dark gown. The sleeves are attached with silk bands with ferruled ends and he has a leather belt with a buckle around his waist. A bag hangs from the belt. He holds red rosary beads and a spherical pendant in his left hand.

[Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 258]

Attribution
Antonius Heusler
Production date
arguably 1534

Production date

arguably 1534

[Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 258]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 53.3 x 35 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 53.3 x 35 cm

  • [Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 258]

Signature / Dating

None

Inscriptions and Labels

  • top, either side of the sitter's head: a two line inscription in gothic script

  • left:
    'Una dies vivum crudeli funere …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • top, either side of the sitter's head:

  • a two line inscription in gothic script

    • left:

  • 'Una dies vivum crudeli funere patrem / Sustulit Ac fictum reddidit una dies'

    • right:

  • 'Vixit annos 67/ Obiit 26 / Augusti an(no): 1434 [sic!]'

    • on the metal bands of the large bead in roman capitals, from top to bottom:

  • 'ANTON'

    • from left to right:

  • 'HEVSLER' and 'HRF[?]'

    • on the signet ring on the index finger of the sitter's left hand, which bears the Seidel coat-of-arms:

  • a white and red shield with a horizontal half moon, above the initials 'N S [the same as the coat-of-arms only reversed]'

  • [Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 258]

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of the panel: - top left:

  • in white paint 'Gm 225'

    • centre:

  • in dark lettering and in pencil 'Nr. 3'

    • bottom left:

  • in chalk 'H52'

Owner
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg
Repository
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg
Location
Nuremberg
CDA ID
DE_GNMN_Gm225
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_GNMN_Gm225/

Provenance

  • acquired before 1882. Origin unknown
    [Löcher, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 258]

Exhibitions

Meissen 1955, No. 92 and Fig.

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Cat. Nuremberg 1997 258-259
AuthorKurt Löcher
TitleDie Gemälde des 16. Jahrhunderts. Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg
Place of PublicationOstfildern-Ruit
Year of Publication1997
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Kronach 1994 under. 26, 27
EditorClaus Grimm, Johannes Erichsen, Evamaria Brockhoff
TitleLucas Cranach. Ein Maler-Unternehmer aus Franken [Festung Rosenberg, Kronach 17.05 - 21.08.1994; Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig 07.09 - 06.11.1994]
SeriesVeröffentlichungen zur bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur
Volume26
Place of PublicationAugsburg, Coburg
Year of Publication1994
Show Literature
Sandner 1993 240, 243
AuthorIngo Sandner
TitleSpätgotische Tafelmalerei in Sachsen
Place of PublicationDresden, Basel
Year of Publication1993
Show Literature
Burkhard 1985 10-13 No. A9
AuthorHans Burkhard
TitleAntonius Heusler. Ein unbekannter Maler in Annaberg im 16. Jahrhundert. Versuch einer Darstellung seines Lebens und seines Werkes
Place of PublicationAnnaberg
Year of Publication1985
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Meissen 1955 92
AuthorErnst-Heinz Lemper
TitleAlte Kunst in Sachsen (1350-1550)
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1955
Show Literature
Cat. Nuremberg 1936/1937 67-68 Fig. 387
AuthorEberhard Lutze, Eberhard Wiegand
TitleKataloge des Germanischen Nationalmuseums zu Nürnberg. Die Gemälde des 13.-16. Jahrhunderts
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1937
Show Literature
Hentschel 1924 9
AuthorWalter Hentschel
TitleAntonius Heusler
Publicationin Thieme-Becker
Volume17
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1924
Pages9-10
Show Literature
Cat. Nuremberg 1909 225
AuthorHeinz Braune
TitleKatalog der Gemälde-Sammlung des Germanischen Nationalmuseums in Nürnberg
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication1909
Show Literature
Cat. Nuremberg 1893 No. 555
AuthorAugust von Essenwein, Adolf Bayersdorfer, Franz von Reber
TitleKatalog der im germanischen Museum befindlichen Gemälde
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication1893
Show Literature
Cat. Nuremberg 1885 No. 510
AuthorAugust von Essenwein, Adolf Bayersdorfer, Franz von Reber
TitleKatalog der im germanischen Museum befindlichen Gemälde
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication1885
Show Literature
Cat. Nuremberg 1882 No. 494
AuthorAugust von Essenwein, Adolf Bayersdorfer, Franz von Reber
TitleKatalog der im germanischen Museum befindlichen Gemälde
Place of PublicationNuremberg
Year of Publication1882
Show Literature
  • Portrait of Nikolaus Seidel, Mayor of Annaberg, arguably 1534

Images

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  • reverse
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Technical studies

09. 2010Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- dry medium (black chalk?)

Type/Ductus:

- thin lines; freehand execution?

Function:

- binding for the final painted version; delineating contours and generally describing the essential details of the face and hands; no representation of volume

Deviations:

- none visible

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Antonius Heusler

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2012]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

1997Technical examination / Scientific analysis

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

Support

- limewood (Tilia sp.)

- 2 boards

- widths from the left: top: 25.7, 9.3 cm, bottom: 25.5, 9.2 cm

- 0.5 - 0.8 cm thick

- the sides have been trimmed slightly

Reverse:

- plane marks visible

- the top and bottom edge are slightly bevelled

Ground and Imprimatura

- the edge of the ground and painted surface has been preserved along the top and bottom

- ground: thin, grey

Underdrawing

- a few precise lines describe the eyes, nose and mouth

Paint Layers and Gilding

Gilding:

- small specks of metal from a gilded frame

Paint Layers:

- an originally blue background has been overpainted with dark green, probably original

Framing

- old, not original, restored

[Gärtner, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 258]

Condition Reports

Date1997

Support:

  • the sides of the panel have been trimmed slightly

  • the left side of the panel is damaged by wood worm

Reverse:

  • filled with a wood based fill material

Painted surface:

  • along the joins parallel to the grain the paint exhibits long tented blisters

  • there is a slight amount of abrasion in the hair, beard and hands

  • there are fills in his left hand and above his right shoulder

Varnish:

  • relatively thick and glossy

[Gärtner, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 258]

Conservation History

Date1989

Restoration: 1989

  • varnish removal

  • old overpaint was reduced

  • losses were filled

  • retouching

[Gärtner, Cat. Nuremberg 1997, 258]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Portrait of Nikolaus Seidel, Mayor of Annaberg', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_GNMN_Gm225/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Portrait of Nikolaus Seidel, Mayor of Annaberg', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_GNMN_Gm225/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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