Hercules and Atlas

Hercules and Atlas

Title

Hercules and Atlas

[Cat. Braunschweig 1976, 15] [Cat. Braunschweig 1969, 47, No. 715]

Painting on beech wood

Medium

Painting on beech wood

[Klein, Report 1992]
[Cat. Braunschweig 1976, 15]
[Cat. Braunschweig 1969, 47, No. 715]

Hercules stands on a grassy hill and carries the celestial vaults on his shoulders in the form of a starry globe. Released from his task Atlas sits exhausted on a stone. A single bush frames the figure of Hercules, behind it is an expanse of water, which can be distinguished

Hercules stands on a grassy hill and carries the celestial vaults on his shoulders in the form of a starry globe. Released from his task Atlas sits exhausted on a stone. A single bush frames the figure of Hercules, behind it is an expanse of water, which can be distinguished as the Straits of Gibraltar by the columns on the rocky outcrops either side of the painting.

The panel is part of the series 'The Labours of Hercules'.

[Görres, cda 2012]

Attributions
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1978, No. 408A]

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Cat. Braunschweig 1976, 15]

Production date
after 1537

Production date

after 1537

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1978, No. 408A]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 109.7 x 98.8 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 109.7 x 98.8 cm

  • [Cat. Braunschweig 1976, 15]

  • [Cat. Braunschweig 1969, 47, No. 715]

Signature / Dating

None

Inscriptions and Labels
  • top left: 'SYDEREVM FESSO GESTAT ATLANTE POLVM.'

[cda 2013] Verso upper area:
paper with handwritten information:
'Z.L.x[?] 6621'

Bottom …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • top left:

  • 'SYDEREVM FESSO GESTAT ATLANTE POLVM.'

  • [cda 2013]

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Verso upper area:

  • paper with handwritten information: 'Z.L.x[?] 6621'

  • Bottom area stamped on the wood:

  • 'Herzog Anton Ulrich-

  • Museum

  • 715'

Owner
Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig
Repository
Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig
Location
Braunschweig
CDA ID
DE_HAUMB_GG715
FR (1978) Nr.
FR408A
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HAUMB_GG715/

Connected Works

The Choice of Hercules
  • The Choice of Hercules, after 1537
  • DE_HAUMB_GG712
  • Painting
  • Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig
Hercules and the Hydra
  • Hercules and the Hydra, after 1537
  • DE_HAUMB_GG713
  • Painting
  • Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig
Hercules and the Arcadian Deer
  • Hercules and the Arcadian Deer, after 1537
  • DE_HAUMB_GG714
  • Painting
  • Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig
Hercules steals the Apples of the Hesperides
  • Hercules steals the Apples of the Hesperides, after 1537
  • DE_HAUMB_GG716
  • Painting
  • Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig
Hercules and the Cattle of Geryones
  • Hercules and the Cattle of Geryones, after 1537
  • DE_HAUMB_GG717
  • Painting
  • Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig

Provenance

  • 1917 legacy of Frau Justizrat Hollandt

[Cat. Braunschweig 1976, 15]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1978 408A
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
TitleThe Paintings of Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationNew York
Year of Publication1978
Show Literature
Cat. Braunschweig 1976 15 715
AuthorSabine Jacob, Rüdiger Klessmann
TitleVerzeichnis der Gemälde vor 1800. Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum Braunschweig
Place of PublicationBraunschweig
Year of Publication1976
Show Literature
Cat. Braunschweig 1969 47 715
Authorn. a.
TitleHerzog Anton Ulrich-Museum Braunschweig. Verzeichnis der Gemälde
Place of PublicationBraunschweig
Year of Publication1969
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 328A
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
Show Literature
  • Hercules and Atlas, after 1537

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • reverse
  • irr

Documents

Technical studies

03. 2013Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

- the final version was executed over a slightly different composition - the figure of Atlas may originally have been standing as his present form has not been held in reserve and the underpainting of the background and rocky outcrop are visible beneath it; the underdrawing of this initial composition appears to have been carried out with a fluid, black medium and brush (an x-radiography could help with a more definite interpretation of this earlier composition).

DESCRIPTION (final version)

Tools/Materials:

- fluid, black medium and brush; in combination with dark chalk?

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing

- thin lines; delicate, fine lines in the background

Function:

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

Deviations:

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

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder; or Lucas Cranach the Younger?

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2013]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

14.05.1992Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Identification of wood species: beech wood

Youngest annual ring: 1531

[Klein Report, 14.05.1992]

  • analysed by Peter Klein

Support made from the same tree

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  • Christ as the Man of Sorrows, after 1537
  • DE_BStGS_4563
  • Painting
  • Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
Hercules steals the Apples of the Hesperides
  • Hercules steals the Apples of the Hesperides, after 1537
  • DE_HAUMB_GG716
  • Painting
  • Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig
Veit Dietrich on his Deathbed
  • Veit Dietrich on his Deathbed, after 1549
  • DE_LmKKO_15-575
  • Painting
  • Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Oldenburg

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Hercules and Atlas', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HAUMB_GG715/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Hercules and Atlas', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HAUMB_GG715/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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