Portrait of Martin Luther

- a single plank of softwood, tangential cut, vertical direction of the grain, smoothed on both sides, Recto sanded down, Verso prominent plane marks visible (a very narrow block plane or a toothed plane (?))

- verso: there was originally a c. 0.5 cm step along the edge of the panel, now only preserved at the top and the bottom, where the panel is just 0.2 cm thick; the panel was probably fitted in a grooved frame (temporary?); there is a black pigmented coating on the reverse, oil-based medium

- recto: fitted in a frame before attaching paper strips (optical identification), c. 0.4 cm along the top and bottom edges not covered (exposed wood), adhesive not identified

- very thin, pale ground applied to the front of the panel (probably a glue/chalk admixture)

- extends to the edge of the paper

- visible in normal light: dark pigmented, fluid medium sketchily describes the main contours and essential details as well as isolated hatching strokes defining shadows

- pigments suspended in an oil-based medium; the paint layer is extremely thin, and was frequently applied in numerous layers with brushes of varying thicknesses, opaque paint was also employed as scumbles

- opaque paint applied with short brush strokes in the background

- the figure was initially laid in with dead colouring, prominent brush strokes are visible in the fur collar; the areas were then worked up with lighter and darker admixtures of the basic tone, using a wet-in-wet technique

- the face and hair were defined using fine lines and hatching strokes (black/dark brown/white) to create volume

- an original coating could not be identified within the scope of this technical examination

- an original frame no longer exists; however when the coating on the reverse was applied the panel was fitted in a grooved frame

[Kurpfälzisches Museum Heidelberg, revised 2020]

• stable condition

Support:

• prominent wood grain, trimmed at the left and right, coarse plane marks

Ground/ Paint layers:

• Recto: wood grain clearly visible; numerous, often extensive losses and scratches extending to the support, all older and retouched without having been filled; the retouches have discoloured

• Verso: numerous areas of abrasion and scratches, in part retouched

Coating:

• Recto: probably a coating containing wax; slightly yellowed and in places cloudy, the surface gloss is uneven and the varnish has sunk over areas of retouching

• Verso: coating containing wax

[Kurpfälzisches Museum Heidelberg, revised 2020]