The Washing of the Feet from a Cycle of 53 works for the balustrade gallery in the former Marienkirche, Dessau

The Washing of the Feet from a Cycle of 53 works for the balustrade gallery in the former Marienkirche, Dessau

Title

The Washing of the Feet from a Cycle of 53 works for the balustrade gallery in the former Marienkirche, Dessau

[cda 2018]

Painting on canvas

Medium

Painting on canvas

[Harksen 1937, 22]

53 paintings for the balustrade gallery of the former Marienkirche in Dessau illustrating subjects from the old and new testaments commissioned in 1553 by Duke Georg III of Anhalt. Cranach the Younger's signature 'LVCAS CRANACH DER MITLER MAL.[ER]' and the family coat of arms, the winged serpent, are on 'The

53 paintings for the balustrade gallery of the former Marienkirche in Dessau illustrating subjects from the old and new testaments commissioned in 1553 by Duke Georg III of Anhalt. Cranach the Younger's signature 'LVCAS CRANACH DER MITLER MAL.[ER]' and the family coat of arms, the winged serpent, are on 'The Last Judgment', which was the last picture in the series. Sadly the entire series was destroyed together with the church during World War Two.

Various donors provided funding for the 53 works and some were represented in the paintings with their portraits. The donors' coats of arms and a short text with their name and title were added to the bottom of each image. Georg III of Anhalt, his brothers and other family members are represented most frequently. However the nobility of Anhalt and the courtiers of Dessau were also involved. The inscriptions and coats of arms were painted on paper and stuck onto the bottom of the painting after completion.

The donors not only paid for their assigned paintings, but also provided financial support for the whole building.

[Tacke 1994, 84-86]

The cycle began with the most easterly image on the South side and continued over the west gallery to the North side:

This painting depicts 'The Circumcision'

Inscription: 'JOHAN SCHVETZ DER ELTER RENTH/ MEISTER'

Coat of arms: the field is divided diagonally (party per bend sinister): top red, below gold; heraldic figure golden tree; mantling red gold; crest missing

The donor was a member of the court of Duke Johann of Anhalt

[Harksen 1937, 23]

Attribution
Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Younger
Production date
about 1553
Dimensions
Dimensions of support: c. 76.5-78 x 65 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: c. 76.5-78 x 65 cm

  • [Harksen 1937, 21]

Signature / Dating

Cranach the Younger's signature 'LVCAS CRANACH DER MITLER MAL.[ER]' and the family coat of arms, the winged serpent, are on 'The Last Judgment', which was the last picture in the series.

Signature / Dating

  • Cranach the Younger's signature 'LVCAS CRANACH DER MITLER MAL.[ER]' and the family coat of arms, the winged serpent, are on 'The Last Judgment', which was the last picture in the series.

  • [Tacke 1994, 85]

Inscriptions and Labels
  • at the bottom, on paper:
    Inscription: 'JOHAN SCHVETZ DER ELTER RENTH/ MEISTER'
    Coat of arms: the field is divided …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • at the bottom, on paper:

  • Inscription: 'JOHAN SCHVETZ DER ELTER RENTH/ MEISTER'

  • Coat of arms: the field is divided diagonally (party per bend sinister): top red, below gold; heraldic figure golden tree; mantling red gold; crest missing

  • [Harksen 1937, 23]

Owner
Ev. Kirchgemeinde St. Johannis und St. Marien, Dessau
Repository
painting not preserved
CDA ID
DE_JD-Lost_JD018
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_JD-Lost_JD018/

Provenance

  • commissioned by Duke Georg III of Anhalt 1553 for the gallery balustrade in the former Marienkirche, Dessau
  • the church and all its furnishings were destroyed by fire during the Second World War.
    [Tacke 1994, 84-86]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Tacke 1994 A
AuthorAndreas Tacke
TitleBeobachtungen zum Qualitätsverfall bei Cranach d. J. und seiner Werkstatt. Zur Wiederverwendung der Erlanger Cranach-Zeichnungen für die Emporenbrüstung von St. Marien in Dessau.
Publicationin Andreas Tacke, ed., Cranach: Meisterwerke auf Vorrat. Die Erlanger Handzeichnungen der Universitätsbibliothek
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication1994
Pages81-91
Show Literature
Harksen 1937 22 1
AuthorMarie Luise Harksen
TitleDie Stadt Dessau
SeriesDie Kunstdenkmale des Landes Anhalt
Volume1
Place of PublicationBurg near Magdeburg
Year of Publication1937
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

According to [Tacke 1994, 86-87] a comparison with the paintings from the series represented by illustrations in the inventory [Harksen 1937] reveals that twelve of the compositions drew on works by Cranach the Elder and three on works by Dürer. […] Cranach the Younger borrowed from his father’s woodcut cycle ‘The Martyrdom of the Apostles’ for his own depictions. […] He used compositions from Albrecht Dürer’s painted series of ‘The Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of the Virgin’ for the representations of ‘The Circumcision’, ‘The Nativity’ and ‘The Nailing to the Cross’. […] Copies of these paintings by a member of the Cranach workshop are preserved in the Erlangen’s university library. […] Furthermore Cranach the Younger drew on drawings from an earlier large workshop commission [the Saints and Passion Cycle for the collegiate Church in Halle] for the ‘Scenes of the Passion’. These drawings are also preserved in Erlangen.

  • The Washing of the Feet from a Cycle of 53 works for the balustrade gallery in the former Marienkirche, Dessau, about 1553

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall

Technical studies

1937Technical Examination

Support

- canvas

- donors' coats of arms on paper [...] and adhered to the bottom of each painting

Paint Layers and Gilding

[...] highlights applied with brushstrokes of gold paint [shell gold?], haloes gilded with an application of gold leaf

[Harksen 1937, 21]

  • written by Marie-Luise Harksen

Conservation History

Date1900 - 1930

Restored after 1900 by Prof. Bernatz, Munich; overpaint and retouches are present on all paintings

[Harksen 1937, 21]

  • conservation treatment by Max Bernatz

Date1780 - 1800

Numerous paintings from the gallery balustrade were touched up during a restoration campaign at the end of the 18th century.

[Harksen 1937, 21]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

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