Samson battling with the lion

Samson battling with the lion

Title

Samson battling with the lion

[CDA 2011]

Painting on beech wood

Medium

Painting on beech wood

[Hoffmann, Cat. Weimar 1992, 28]

With a powerful action Samson wrenches the lion's head back to his neck and pulls open his mouth, while he puts his left foot on the lion's back. On the right bushes create the immediate backdrop for the scene, while the left side opens out to reveal an expansive landscape

With a powerful action Samson wrenches the lion's head back to his neck and pulls open his mouth, while he puts his left foot on the lion's back. On the right bushes create the immediate backdrop for the scene, while the left side opens out to reveal an expansive landscape with a castle and a town.

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Weimar 2015, 68] [Hoffmann, Cat. Weimar 1992, 28]

Production date
about 1520 - 1525

Production date

about 1520 - 1525

[Exhib. Cat. Weimar 2015, 68] [Hoffmann, Cat. Weimar 1992, 28]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 56.7 x 38 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 56.7 x 38 cm

  • [Hoffmann, Cat. Weimar 1992, 28]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia bottom left: winged serpent with elevated wings, facing right

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia bottom left: winged serpent with elevated wings, facing right

  • [cda 2010]

Owner
Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Museums
Repository
Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Museums
Location
Weimar
CDA ID
DE_KSW_G836
FR (1978) Nr.
FR140
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_KSW_G836/

Provenance

  • acquired on the Berlin art market in 1928/29 (by Dr. Benedikt through Dr. Roselius)

[Hoffmann, Cat. Weimar 1992, 28]

Exhibitions

Weimar, Wittenberg 1953, no. 23
Weimar 1972, no. 20, Fig. p. 51

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Weimar 2015 68, 72, 183, 184 37 Fig. 37
EditorWolfgang Holler, Karin Kolb
TitleCranach in Weimar, [Weimar, Schiller-Museum, 3 April - 14 June 2015]
Place of PublicationDresden
Year of Publication2015
Show Literature
Kolb 2015 B 185, 192
AuthorKarin Kolb
TitleCarl Heinrich von Heineken und die Cranach-Rezeption im 18. Jahrhundert
Publicationin Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz, ed., Cranach im Gotischen Haus in Wörlitz, Exhib. Cat. Wörlitz
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages179-193
Show Literature
Koepplin 2003 C 146, 147 Fig. 13
AuthorDieter Koepplin
TitleEin Cranach-Prinzip
Publicationin Heinz Spielmann, Werner Schade, eds., Lucas Cranach. Glaube, Mythologie und Moderne, Exhib. Cat. Hamburg 2003
Place of PublicationOstfildern-Ruit
Year of Publication2003
Pages144-165
Show Literature
Cat. Weimar 1992 28-29 No. 8
AuthorHelga Hoffmann
EditorKunstsammlungen zu Weimar
TitleKunstsammlungen zu Weimar. Die deutschen Gemälde des XVI. Jahrhunderts
Place of PublicationFulda
Year of Publication1992
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 98 No. 140 Fig. 140
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Schade 1974 Plate 103, p. 70
AuthorWerner Schade
TitleDie Malerfamilie Cranach
Place of PublicationDresden
Year of Publication1974
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schade1974
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Weimar 1972 B No. 20 Fig. p. 51
EditorSchlossmuseum Weimar
TitleLucas Cranach 1472-1553. Ein großer Maler in bewegter Zeit
Place of PublicationWeimar
Year of Publication1972
Show Literature
Hintzenstern 1972 72 with Fig.
AuthorHerbert von Hintzenstern
TitleLucas Cranach d. Ä. Altarbilder aus der Reformationszeit
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1972
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Weimar, Wittenberg 1953 No. 23
AuthorWalther Scheidig
EditorDeutsche Lucas Cranach Komitee
TitleLucas Cranach Ausstellung. Weimar und Wittenberg
Place of PublicationWeimar, Wittenberg
Year of Publication1953
Show Literature
Posse 1943 Pl. 52
AuthorHans Posse
TitleLucas Cranach d. Ä.
Place of PublicationVienna
IssueSecond edition
Year of Publication1943
Show Literature
Lilienfein 1942 Fig. 115
AuthorHeinrich Lilienfein
TitleLukas Cranach und seine Zeit
Place of PublicationBielefeld
Year of Publication1942
Show Literature
Posse 1942 Pl. 52
AuthorHans Posse
TitleLucas Cranach d. Ä.
Place of PublicationVienna
Year of Publication1942
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 118
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
  • Samson battling with the lion, about 1520 - 1525

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • irr
  • x_radiograph
  • x_radiograph
  • x_radiograph
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail

Documents

Technical studies

06.10.2014Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • X-radiography
  • x_radiograph
  • x_radiograph
  • x_radiograph

Equipment: ERESCO 42 MF 4 from the company GE.

Scanner: CRxFlex.

Parameters: 60 KV, 6 mA, 20 seconds

Distance from object: 3m

[HfBK Dresden, Prof. I. Mohrmann, K. Risse, 06.10.2014]

  • created by I. Mohrmann
  • created by HfBK Dresden
  • created by K. Risse

04. 2010Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid black medium, pointed brush

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing

- thin lines

Function:

- binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe essential features within forms, no representation of volume

Deviations:

- minor alterations made during the painted version to clearly define form

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- not clear (workshop ?)

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2012]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

1990Technical Examination

  • Infrared reflectography

Support

- two planks vertically aligned (one narrow, one broad)

Underdrawing

- underdrawing executed with a square brush

[Hoffmann, Cat. Weimar 1992, 28]

IRR: Dr. B. Konrad, Konstanz 1990

1953Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • X-radiography
  • photographed by Institut für Denkmalpflege, Halle

Condition Reports

Date1990

  • the panel was probably thinned to a thickness of 4 mm because of old woodworm damage and because it was slightly warped

  • pine wood cradle

  • old fills and retouching along the join, at the right edge of the panel and on the rocky outcrop; some have been renewed

[Hoffmann, Cat. Weimar 1992, 28]

Conservation History

Date1980

No information

[Hoffmann, Cat. Weimar 1992, 28]

  • conservation treatment by H. Müller

Versions

Samson defeating the lion
  • Samson defeating the lion, about 1520 - 1525
  • PRIVATE_NONE-P012
  • Painting
  • Private Collection

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Samson battling with the lion', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_KSW_G836/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Samson battling with the lion', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_KSW_G836/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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