Portrait of Georg III, Prince of Anhalt

Portrait of Georg III, Prince of Anhalt

Title

Portrait of Georg III, Prince of Anhalt

[cda 2019]

Painting on parchment

Medium

Painting on parchment

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 85-91, No. 13]

The portrait miniature depicts a full-length portrait of Georg III of Anhalt, standing in a door-frame with a pointed arch or a niche. Coats of arms are represented on each side at the top, centre and bottom. The prince is wearing a black fur-trimmed cloak over a black doublet. In

The portrait miniature depicts a full-length portrait of Georg III of Anhalt, standing in a door-frame with a pointed arch or a niche. Coats of arms are represented on each side at the top, centre and bottom. The prince is wearing a black fur-trimmed cloak over a black doublet. In front of his chest he is holding a prayer book in both hands. His face, shown in three-quarter profile facing to the right, is plump and bearded and his mouth slightly pinched. His dark brown hair is beginning to grey.

The coats of arms:

top left: Duchy of Anhalt and barony of Bernburg; top right: barony of Ballenstedt and County of Askanien; centre left: County of Waldersee; centre right: County of Warmsdorf; bottom left: House of Berlinger and County of Mühlingen; bottom right: Chapter of the Archdiocese of Magdeburg and Regalien.

[see: Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 85-91, No. 13]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Younger and Workshop

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 85-91, No. 13]

Production date
1553

Production date

1553

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimension of sheet: 33.4 x 22.3 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimension of sheet: 33.4 x 22.3 cm

  • Dimension of painted surface: 30.3 x 19.9 cm

  • [Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 85-91, No. 13]

Signature / Dating
Artist's insignia lower left background above the coat of arms: serpent with dropped wings and dated '1553'

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia lower left background above the coat of arms: serpent with dropped wings and dated '1553'

Inscriptions and Labels
on the reverse: - Melanchthon's panegyric on the deceased prince and reformer (1553)

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • on the reverse: - Melanchthon's panegyric on the deceased prince and reformer (1553)
  • [Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 85-91, No. 13]
Owner
Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Repository
Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Location
Wolfenbüttel
CDA ID
DE_HABW_B121
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B121/

Provenance

  • unknown
  • probably the portrait recorded in the university library, Helmstedt in 1750
  • 1913 transferred from there to the library in Wolfenbüttel
    [Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 85-91, No. 13]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012 85-91 No. 13 Figs. 13-13.2
AuthorMichael Wenzel
TitleDie Gemälde der Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Place of PublicationWiesbaden
Year of Publication2012

Research History / Discussion

The miniature is of a type, which includes woodcuts and illuminations. These were mainly used as an author’s portrait after Georg III’s death to embellish his sermons and writings published in 1555. They were also integrated into special editions of Luther’s bible quasi as representations of a princely guarantor of the reformation.

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 85-91, No. 13]

  • Portrait of Georg III, Prince of Anhalt, 1553

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse

Condition Reports

  • the edge of the parchment is heavily stained, at the bottom there is a c. 0.7 cm tear

  • there are numerous small fixing holes along the edge

  • the surface exhibits horizontal wavy deformations

  • small folds in the area of the lower left coat of arms

  • abrasion at the bottom edge

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 85-91, No. 13]

Conservation History

Date20.11.1969 -

  • small losses retouched with watercolours

  • framed (since removed)

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 85-91, No. 13]

  • conservation treatment by Heinz Müller-Jung

Versions

Portrait of Georg III. of Anhalt [from the bible of Johann II. of Anhalt]
  • Portrait of Georg III. of Anhalt [from the bible of Johann II. of Anhalt], 1554
  • DE_SBB-Lost_fol-8-Iv
  • Painting
  • Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz
Portrait of Georg III. and Joachim I. of Anhalt
  • Portrait of Georg III. and Joachim I. of Anhalt, 1553
  • DE_MD-Lost_NONE-001
  • Painting
  • Kirche St. Marien, Dessau

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Portrait of Georg III, Prince of Anhalt', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B121/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Portrait of Georg III, Prince of Anhalt', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B121/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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