Katharina of Bora, half-length, facing left

Katharina of Bora, half-length, facing left

Title

Katharina of Bora, half-length, facing left

[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/

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
AuthorMichael Wenzel
TitleDie Gemälde der Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Place of PublicationWiesbaden
Year of Publication2012
Exhib. Cat. Madrid 2007/2008 297, 314f. No. 127f
EditorFernando Checa
TitleDurero y Cranach. Arte y Humanismo en la Alemania del Renacimiento [Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza]
Place of PublicationMadrid
Year of Publication2007
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 108 No. 190C
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 60 No. 160f
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

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

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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]

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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