Christ Blessing the Children

Christ Blessing the Children

Painting on limewood

Medium

Painting on limewood

[Cat. Hamburg 2007 A, no. 618]

'Jesus, who holds a child in his left arm while blessing another with his right hand, is surrounded by mothers and children. In front of him a woman prays with her hands raised, and on the left edge there are three apostles. Three-quarter and half-length figures against a neutral black

'Jesus, who holds a child in his left arm while blessing another with his right hand, is surrounded by mothers and children. In front of him a woman prays with her hands raised, and on the left edge there are three apostles. Three-quarter and half-length figures against a neutral black background.'

[G. Walczak, Cat. Hamburg 2007 A, no. 618]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

["Ein gewisser Anteil der Werkstatt und damit auch des jüngeren Cranach ist allerdings nicht auszuschließen.", Cat. Hamburg 2007 A, no. 618]; [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, no. 362]

Dating
1538

Dating

1538

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 83.5 x 121cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 83.5 x 121cm

  • [Cat. Hamburg 2007 A, no. 618]

  • Dimensions of support: 82.8 x 120.8 cm

  • [Heydenreich, cda 2012]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia half to the right beneath the inscription: winged serpent with dropped wings and dated '1538'

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia half to the right beneath the inscription: winged serpent with dropped wings and dated '1538'

  • [Görres, cda 2012]

Inscriptions

- top: 'VND SIE BRACHTEN KINDLIN ZV IM DAS ER SIE ANRURETE || MARCUS AM X.'
[Cat. Hamburg …

Inscriptions

Inscriptions:

  • - top: 'VND SIE BRACHTEN KINDLIN ZV IM DAS ER SIE ANRURETE || MARCUS AM X.'

  • [Cat. Hamburg 2007 A, no. 618]

Owner
Hamburger Kunsthalle
Repository
Hamburger Kunsthalle
Location
Hamburg
CDA ID
DE_HKH_HK-618
FR (1978) Nr.
FR362
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HKH_HK-618/

Provenance

- gift of the consul general Hendrik Pontoppidan, Altona 1886
[Cat. Hamburg 2007 A, no. 618]

Exhibitions

Hamburg 1983, No. 114

[Cat. Hamburg 2007, No. 618]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Prague 2016 127, 129
EditorOlga Kotková
TitleCranach. Ze všech stran. From all sides.
Place of PublicationPrague
Year of Publication2016
Pages16-180
Show Literature
Kolb 2015 A 210, Fn. 20
AuthorKarin Kolb
TitleZuschreibung im Cranach-Oeuvre. Neue Überlegungen zu einem alten Problem
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages206-215
Show Literature
Cat. Hamburg 2007 A 618
AuthorMartina Sitt, Gerrit Walczak
TitleDie Sammlungen der Hamburger Kunsthalle. Die deutschen, englischen, französischen, italienischen und spanischen Gemälde 1350-1800
Place of PublicationHamburg
Year of Publication2007
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005 308 018 (under) Fig. 137
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
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Prague 2005 96 (English version 38) under no. 20
EditorObrazárna Pražského hradu, Kaliopi Chamonikola
TitlePod znamením okrídleného hada. Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme. Under the winged Serpent. Lucas Cranach and the Czech Land
Place of PublicationPrague
Year of Publication2005
Show Literature
Cat. Weimar 1988 64 under No. 21
AuthorHelga Hoffmann
TitleKunstsammlungen zu Weimar: Die deutschen Gemälde des XVI. Jahrhunderts
Place of PublicationWeimar
Year of Publication1988
Show Literature
Andersson 1981 53-56
AuthorChristiane D. Anderson
TitleReligiöse Bilder Cranachs im Dienste der Reformation
Publicationin L.W. Spitz, ed., Humanismus und Reformation als kulturelle Kräfte in der Deutschen Geschichte
Place of PublicationBerlin, New York
Year of Publication1981
Pages43-76
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 362
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Cat. Hamburg 1966 45
Authorn. a.
TitleKatalog der Alten Meister der Hamburger Kunsthalle
Place of PublicationHamburg
IssueFifth edition
Year of Publication1966
Show Literature
Cat. Hamburg 1956 42-43
Authorn. a.
TitleKatalog der Alten Meister der Hamburger Kunsthalle
Place of PublicationHamburg
IssueFourth edition
Year of Publication1956
Show Literature
Kibish 1955 197 3
AuthorChristine O. Kibish
TitleLucas Cranach's Christ Blessing the Children. A Problem of Lutheran Iconography
JournalThe Art Bulletin
Issue37 (1955)
Year of Publication1955
Pages196-203
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 291
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
Cat. Hamburg 1930 29-30
Authorn. a.
TitleKunsthalle zu Hamburg. Katalog der Alten Meister
Place of PublicationHamburg
IssueThird edition
Year of Publication1930
Show Literature
Cat. Hamburg 1921 30-31
AuthorGustav Pauli
TitleKunsthalle zu Hamburg. Katalog der Alten Meister
Place of PublicationHamburg
IssueSecond edition
Year of Publication1921
Show Literature
Cat. Hamburg 1918 30-31
Authorn. a.
TitleKunsthalle zu Hamburg. Katalog der Alten Meister
Place of PublicationHamburg
Year of Publication1918
Show Literature
  • Christ Blessing the Children, 1538

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License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Technical studies

19.09.2012 - Technical Examination

  • reverse

Support

- support cradled, original thickness (8 mm) has been doubled to 17 mm

[Heydenreich, cda 2012]

08. 2012Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid, black medium and brush; initial design possibly with a dry drawing material, dark or red chalk?

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing?

- thin lines; occasionally with delicate, fine lines

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe the essential details; 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 the Younger?

Comments:

- possibly with reference to a pre-existing design

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2013]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

Condition Reports

Date2007

- paint loss along the horizontal joins filled with a neutral material; similar treatment of larger losses in the head of Christ and the area of the apostles' heads on the the left.

[Cat. Hamburg 2007, No. 618]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Christ Blessing the Children', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HKH_HK-618/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Christ Blessing the Children', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HKH_HK-618/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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