Johann I the Steadfast, Elector of Saxony

- a single hardwood plank, almost radial cut, vertical alignment of the grain, sanded on both sides, width of the bevel: left/right to 2 cm, top/bottom to 3.4 cm

- Verso: brown coating, date of application unknown, c. 2 mm unpainted edges, suggesting the panel was at somes stage fixed in a grooved frame

- a light coloured, very thin ground (probably glue/chalk mix) was applied to the front of the panel

- extends to the edges of the panel, a distinctive barb is not visible, it may have been fixed in a temporary frame when the ground was applied

- visible in normal light beneath the paint layers: a dark pigmented fluid medium, possibly applied with a brush, sketchily describing the main contours and essential details

- pigments ground in an oil-based medium, very thin application with brushes of varying thickness, applied in some areas in more than one layer, also some scumbling with opaque paint

- paint in the background appears to have been dabbed on

- the figure was initially laid in with dead colouring; brush strokes clearly visible in the fur collar, the paint was modulated with light and dark admixtures of the base tones, employing a wet-in-wet technique, fine lines and hatching strokes (black/dark brown/white) were used to create volume

- the contour along the shoulder and around the hat was reinforced with blue paint

- there are parallel incised lines c. 2mm from the edge of the panel

- an original coating could not be found during this technical examintation

- the prignial frame no longer exists; the panel was fixed in a grooved frame for an undetermined period of time

[Kurpfälzisches Museum Heidelberg, revised 2020]

• stable condition

Support:

a slight convex warp is visible across the grain; there are small triangular indentations (c. 2mm in length) at the centre of the top and bottom edge, possibly from a previous framing (?); heraldic right c. 4 cm split, slightly open on the reverse but not on the front

Ground/Paint layers:

• network of cracks, coarse in the background and fine in the dark areas; numerous old losses and scratches particularly in the background, all have been retouched without being filled, the retouching has discoloured slightly

Coating:

• probably contains wax, slightly yellowed and in part cloudy, uneven gloss matt and sunk in the areas of retouching

[Kurpfälzisches Museum Heidelberg, revised 2020]