The Virgin, breastfeeding the child

The Virgin, breastfeeding the child

Title

The Virgin, breastfeeding the child

[Cat. Darmstadt 1990, No. 68]

Painting on limewood

Medium

Painting on limewood

[Cat. Darmstadt 1990, No. 68]

The Virgin is depicted sitting in front of a mountain landscape with her child on her lap. She offers him her right breast, which the child grasps in both hands.

[cda 2015]

Attributions
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[cda 2017][Exhib. Cat. Eisenach 1998, No. 23.2]

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Cat. Darmstadt 1990, No. 68]

Production date
about 1516

Production date

about 1516

[Sandner 1998 B, 90][Exhib. Cat. Eisenach 1998, No. 23.2] [Cat. Darmstadt 1990, No. 68]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 59 x 38 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 59 x 38 cm

  • [Cat. Darmstadt 1990, No. 68]

Signature / Dating

None

Owner
Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt
Repository
Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt
Location
Darmstadt
CDA ID
DE_HLMD_GK69
FR (1978) Nr.
FR080
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HLMD_GK69/

Provenance

  • acquired before 1820, probably from landgraviate property
    [Cat. Darmstadt 1990, No. 68]

Exhibitions

  • Dresden 1899, No. 138

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Sandner 2021 75, 76 Fig. 5
AuthorIngo Sandner
TitleDie Werkstattpraxis Lucas Cranach des Älteren
Publicationin Dagmar Täube, ed., Lucas Cranach der Ältere und Hans Kemmer. Meistermaler zwischen Renaissance und Reformation [Lübeck, St. Annen-Museum]
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2021
Pages71-81
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Eisenach 1998 231 23.2 Fig. 23.2
EditorWartburg-Stiftung, Eisenach, Fachhochschule , Ingo Sandner
TitleUnsichtbare Meisterzeichnungen auf dem Malgrund. Cranach und seine Zeitgenossen. Ausstellungskatalog und Tagungsband Katalogteil 1; 2: Werkstatt und Schüler Cranachs; 3: Süddeutsche Meister; 4: Albrecht Dürer und sein Kreis; 5: Rheinische Meister
Place of PublicationRegensburg
Year of Publication1998
Pages229-240
Show Literature
Sandner 1998 B 90, 93, 95
AuthorIngo Sandner
TitleCranach als Zeichner auf dem Malgrund
Publicationin Ingo Sandner, Wartburg-Stiftung Eisenach and Fachhochschule Köln, eds., Unsichtbare Meisterzeichnungen auf dem Malgrund. Cranach und seine Zeitgenossen, Exhib. Cat. Eisenach
Place of PublicationRegensburg
Year of Publication1998
Pages83-95
Show Literature
Cat. Darmstadt 1990 236-237 68 p. 237
AuthorWolfgang Beeh
TitleDeutsche Malerei um 1260-1550 im Hessischen Landesmuseum Darmstadt
Place of PublicationDarmstadt
Year of Publication1990
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 80
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 73
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. Darmstadt 1914 69
AuthorFriedrich Back
TitleGrossherzoglich Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darmstadt. Verzeichnis der Gemälde
Place of PublicationDarmstadt
Year of Publication1914
Link https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/back1914
Show Literature
Cat. Dresden 1899 138
AuthorKarl Woermann
TitleKatalog der Königlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Dresden. Grosse Ausgabe
Place of PublicationDresden
IssueFourth edition
Year of Publication1899
Link https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/91887/7
Show Literature
Schuchardt 1851 C 39, fn. 1
AuthorChristian Schuchardt
TitleLucas Cranach des Aeltern Leben und Werke. Zweiter Theil
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1851
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schuchardt1851bd2
Show Literature
Cat. Darmstadt 1820 232
AuthorFranz Hubert Müller
TitleBeschreibung der Gemäldesammlung in dem Grossherzoglichen Musaeum zu Darmstadt
Place of PublicationDarmstadt
Year of Publication1820
Show Literature
  • The Virgin, breastfeeding the child, about 1516

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • irr
  • irr
  • irr

Technical studies

08. 2015Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- a black fluid medium with a brush

Type/Ductus:

- detailed and freehand underdrawing

- thin to broader lines

- occasional hatching-strokes

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe the essential details and the facial features; occasional representation of volume with hatching-strokes (e. g. the Virgin's head)

Deviations:

- minor alterations made during the painting process to clearly define form; small changes (e.g. in the background, position of the infant Christ)

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- an assistant in the Cranach workshop after the prototype of the same subject in Budapest (HU_SMB_4328)

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2016]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

1998Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr
  • irr

Underdrawing

1990 - Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared photography

Underdrawing

- the underdrawing is visible to the naked eye and reveals that the child was originally positioned further up

[Cat. Darmstadt 1990, No. 68]

Versions

The Virgin Suckling the Child
  • The Virgin Suckling the Child, about 1515
  • HU_SMB_4328
  • Painting
  • Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, Budapest
Madonna Lactans
  • Madonna Lactans, about 1515 - 1520
  • AT_KW_11500-179
  • Painting
  • Provinzialat der Kapuziner Österreich-Südtirol

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Virgin, breastfeeding the child', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HLMD_GK69/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Virgin, breastfeeding the child', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HLMD_GK69/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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