Katharina of Bora, half-length, facing left

Title

[KKL 2022]

Painting on beech wood

See German text version

Attributions: Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder and Workshop

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Elder	[KKL 2022]
Lucas Cranach the Elder and Workshop	[Wenzel / Matthey 2012, p. 63–69, Nos. 8, 9]

Production date: 1526

Production date

1526	[Pendant dated]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 22.4 x 16 x 0.3 - 0.4 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 22.4 x 16 x 0.3 - 0.4 cm
Dimensions of painted surface: 19.1 x 12.6 cm
[KKL 2022]

Signature / Dating: Artist's insignia on the pendant: serpent and dated '1526'

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia on the pendant: serpent and dated '1526'
[KKL 2022]

Inscriptions and Labels

on the reverse: - adhesive label with stamp: 'Bibliothek zu Wolfenbüttel'

adhesive label with stamp: 'Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel' and …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

on the reverse: - adhesive label with stamp: 'Bibliothek zu Wolfenbüttel'
- adhesive label with stamp: 'Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel' and inventory no. 'B94'
- printed adhesive label: 'Sächsischer Kunstverein Dresden 1226'
[Wenzel / Matthey 2012, No. 9]

Owner: Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Repository: Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Location: Wolfenbüttel

CDA ID: DE_HABW_B94
FR (1978) Nr.: FR189-190C
KKL-No: III.M11b, Part of portait group III
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B94/

Connected Works

Provenance

unknown
probably transferred from the property of Duke Rudolph August of Braunschweig-Lüneburg 1702 to the university library, Helmstedt, after the dissolution of the university in 1812 it was transferred to Göttingen and returned after 1815 to Wolfenbüttel
1823 first recorded in the library, Wolfenbüttel
[Wenzel / Matthey 2012, No. 9]

Exhibitions

Madrid 2007/08, Cat.-No. 127f

Literature

Reference on page

Catalogue Number

Figure / Plate

Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012

63-69

No. 9

Figs. 9, 9.1

Author	Michael Wenzel
Title	Die Gemälde der Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Place of Publication	Wiesbaden
Year of Publication	2012

Show Literature

Exhib. Cat. Madrid 2007/2008

297, 314f.

No. 127f

Editor	Fernando Checa
Title	Durero y Cranach. Arte y Humanismo en la Alemania del Renacimiento [Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza]
Place of Publication	Madrid
Year of Publication	2007

Show Literature

Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979

108

No. 190C

Author	Max J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
Editor	G. Schwartz
Title	Die Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of Publication	Basel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication	1979

Show Literature

Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932

No. 160f

Author	Max J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
Title	Die Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of Publication	Berlin
Year of Publication	1932
Link	http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932

Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

In this pendant portrait Katharina von Bora is shown turned towards her husband, but rather than looking at him her gaze is directed at the viewer. She is wearing a black dress with a high collar over a lace bodice with gold brocade. Her hair is gathered under a net snood with a reddish golden brocade band. In the painting her secular status is more clearly defined by her clothes and accessories than is the case with the portrait of Luther.

[See Wenzel / Matthey 2012, S. 63–69, Nr. 9]

Katharina of Bora, half-length, facing left, 1526

Images

Technical studies

Date27.03.2021 - 2021

Support

See German version

Support

- the panel consists of a single plank, probably beech wood with a coating on the reverse

Framing

- glued to the panel; blackish brown battens with gilded moulding

- there is a metal eyelet in the centre at the right side

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 63-69, No. 9]

Condition Reports

craquelé with a pronounced vertical crack formation
losses and retouches particularly in the background
there is a backboard attached to the reverse of the panel, the wooden panel exhibits some damage with abrasion along the edges

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 63-69, No. 9]

Versions

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'Katharina of Bora, half-length, facing left', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B94/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'Katharina of Bora, half-length, facing left', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B94/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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