The Sermon of John the Baptist

The Sermon of John the Baptist

Title

The Sermon of John the Baptist

[Cat. Braunschweig 1976, 16] [Cat. Braunschweig 1969, 48, No. 29]

Painting on beech wood

Medium

Painting on beech wood

[Klein, Report 1990]
[Cat. Braunschweig 1976, 16]
[Cat. Braunschweig 1969, 48, No. 29]

St John the Baptist stands raised up on a tree-stump on the left side of the painting. He wears a fur robe and speaks to a large throng of soldiers (some on horseback), nobility and citizens who occupy almost all of the remaining pictorial space. Beneath him in the

St John the Baptist stands raised up on a tree-stump on the left side of the painting. He wears a fur robe and speaks to a large throng of soldiers (some on horseback), nobility and citizens who occupy almost all of the remaining pictorial space. Beneath him in the first row to the right of the centre a man dressed in princely attire is particularly conspicuous. He points with his finger to the right where beside him a white haired man in a fur-lined black cloak stands. He holds two documents in his hand. The text indicates that the recipiant is a duke.

[Görres, cda 2012]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Younger

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Younger

[Cat. Braunschweig 1976, 16] [Cat. Braunschweig 1969, 48, No. 29]

Production date
1549

Production date

1549

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 113.9 x 167.6 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 113.9 x 167.6 cm

  • [Cat. Braunschweig 1976, 16]

  • [Cat. Braunschweig 1969, 48, No. 29]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia beside the tree stump: winged serpent, facing left and the date '1549'.

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia beside the tree stump: winged serpent, facing left and the date '1549'.

  • [Görres, cda 2012]

Inscriptions and Labels

On the upper edge: 'Ihr Hoff vnd Krigsleute lasset euch an Euer besoldung begnugen vnd beschwe=
ret noch vbersetzet …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

  • On the upper edge:

  • 'Ihr Hoff vnd Krigsleute lasset euch an Euer besoldung begnugen vnd beschwe=

  • ret noch vbersetzet niemand vnd Finantzet den leuten nit das ihre ab. Luc. iii.

  • Dann wehr schanchung nimmet kan nicht einem wie dem anderen das

  • Recht vnd die gleichhait widerfahren lassen. Im letzten Buch Moisi am

  • xvi Capittel.'

  • [cda 2013]

Owner
Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig
Repository
Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig
Location
Braunschweig
CDA ID
DE_HAUMB_GG29
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HAUMB_GG29/

Provenance

  • entered the collection before 1737
    [Cat. Braunschweig 1969, 48, No. 29]

Exhibitions

Berlin 1937, No. 134

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel 2015 192 Fig. 1
EditorJulia Carrasco, Justus Lange, Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha, Benjamin D. Spira, Timo Trümper
TitleBild und Botschaft. Cranach im Dienst von Hof und Reformation, [Gotha, Herzogliches Museum; Kassel, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Schloss Wilhelmshöhe]
Place of PublicationHeidelberg
Year of Publication2015
Lange 2015 39
AuthorJustus Lange
TitleLucas Cranach und die Landgrafschaft Hessen
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
Pages29-42
Waterman 2015 283, 286, Fn. 34; 287
AuthorJoshua P. Waterman
TitleThe Artistic Emergence of Lucas Cranach the Younger
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages280-289
Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005 294, 295 Fn. under No. 15 Fig. 136
EditorHarald Marx, Karin Kolb, Ingrid Mössinger
TitleCranach Anlässlich der Ausstellung Cranach vom 13. November 2005 bis 12. März 2006 in den Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz. Eine Ausstellung in Kooperation mit der Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Schulze 2004 67
AuthorIngrid Schulze
TitleLucas Cranach d. J. und die protestantische Bildkunst in Sachsen und Thüringen. Frömmigkeit, Theologie, Fürstenreformation
Place of PublicationBucha near Jena
Year of Publication2004
Jacoby 1987
AuthorJoachim W. Jacoby
Title"Er hatte desfals die Dreistigkeit... folgende starke Sprüche anzubringen". Die Johannespredigt Lucas Cranachs d. J. im Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum
JournalNiederdeutsche Beiträge zur Kunstgeschichte
Issue26
Year of Publication1987
Pages83-104
Jacobi 1986 855
AuthorJ. Jacobi
TitleAus dem Besitz der Braunschweiger Herzöge
JournalWeltkunst: Zeitschrift für Kunst und Antiquitäten
Issue6
Year of Publication1986
Pages852-855
Cat. Braunschweig 1976 16 29
AuthorSabine Jacob, Rüdiger Klessmann
TitleVerzeichnis der Gemälde vor 1800. Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum Braunschweig
Place of PublicationBraunschweig
Year of Publication1976
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976 538 (u.)
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
Schade 1974 89
AuthorWerner Schade
TitleDie Malerfamilie Cranach
Place of PublicationDresden
Year of Publication1974
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schade1974
Cat. Braunschweig 1969 48 29
Authorn. a.
TitleHerzog Anton Ulrich-Museum Braunschweig. Verzeichnis der Gemälde
Place of PublicationBraunschweig
Year of Publication1969
Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1937 48 134 Pl. 98
EditorStaatliche Museen, Berlin
TitleLucas Cranach d. Ä. und Lucas Cranach d. J. Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Graphik
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1937
Cat. Braunschweig 1900 18
AuthorHerman Riegel
TitleHerzogliches Museum Braunschweig. Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Gemälde-Sammlung
Place of PublicationBraunschweig
Year of Publication1900
Link https://leopard.tu-braunschweig.de/receive/dbbs_mods_00023360
Woltmann 1876 563
AuthorAlfred Woltmann
TitleCranach: Lucas C. der Jüngere
Publicationin Historische Commission bei der Königl. Akademie der Wissenschaften (in München), ed., Allgemeine deutsche Biographie
Seriesall
Volume4
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1876
Pages562-563

Research History / Discussion

Various attempts to associate the figure in princely attire with an historical person have not been convincing. Both Jacoby 1987 and Kolb 2005 A, 294 disagree with the identifcation of the bearded figure in the fur-trimmed cloak as Lucas Cranach the Elder.

[Görres, cda 2012]

  • The Sermon of John the Baptist, 1549

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • irr
  • detail
  • detail

Technical studies

03. 2013Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid, black medium and brush; in combination with a dry drawing material?

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing

- delicate fine lines as well as thin to broader lines

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe essential details; no representation of volume

Deviations:

- minor alterations made during the painting process to clearly define form

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Lucas Cranach the Younger?

Comments:

- the veins are indicated with dark lines

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2013]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

20.09.1990Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Identification of wood species: beech wood

  • analysed by Peter Klein

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Sermon of John the Baptist', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HAUMB_GG29/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Sermon of John the Baptist', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HAUMB_GG29/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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