Prince Johann Georg I. zu Anhalt as a Child

Prince Johann Georg I. zu Anhalt as a Child

Titles

Prince Johann Georg I. zu Anhalt as a Child

[Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz; http://museum-digital.de/san/index.php?t=objekt&oges=16577; accessed 24 March 2015]

Prince Johann Georg II (1627-1693)

Noted on the reverse of the panel in the 19th century [Melzer 2005, 54]

Painting on paper attached to oak wood

Medium

Painting on paper attached to oak wood

[cda 2015]

Portrait sketch of a c. 3 year old boy with blond curly hair and a ruff collar. The sitter is the future Prince Johann Georg I. of Anhalt-Dessau (1567-1618). For a long time the painting was erroneously considered to be a portrait of Prince Johann Georg II. von Anhalt-Dessau (1627-1693)

Portrait sketch of a c. 3 year old boy with blond curly hair and a ruff collar. The sitter is the future Prince Johann Georg I. of Anhalt-Dessau (1567-1618). For a long time the painting was erroneously considered to be a portrait of Prince Johann Georg II. von Anhalt-Dessau (1627-1693) as a child.

[Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz; http://museum-digital.de/san/index.php?t=objekt&oges=16577; accessed 24 March 2015]

Attributions
Lucas Cranach the Younger

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Younger

[http://museum-digital.de/san/index.php?t=objekt&oges=16577; accessed 24 March 2015]
[Melzer 2005, 54, 56] mentioning that it was Werner Schade who in 2002 first suggested the attribution

von einem unbekannten deutschen Maler [17. Jh.] (by an unknown German artist [17th century] noted on the reverse of the panel in the 19th century
[Melzer 2005, 54]

Production date
about 1570

Production date

about 1570

[Melzer, in Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005, 52-53]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 31 x 23.7 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 31 x 23.7 cm

  • [cda 2015]

Signature / Dating

None

Owner
Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz
Repository
Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz, Gotisches Haus (The Gothic House)
Location
Wörlitz
CDA ID
DE_KsDW_I-66
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_KsDW_I-66/

Provenance

  • Kriegerischen Kabinett, Gotisches Haus Wörlitz
  • seit dem 19. Jh. im Geistlichen Kabinett, Gotisches Haus Wörlitz
    [Melzer 2005, 54]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Wörlitz 2015 124-125
EditorKulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz
EditingWolfgang Savelsberg
TitleCranach im Gotischen Haus in Wörlitz, [Wörlitz, Gotisches Haus, 15 May - 4 Oct. 2015]
SeriesKataloge und Schriften der Kulturstiftung Dessau Wörlitz
Volume35
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Show Literature
Melzer 2015 B 154, 155-156 12
AuthorReinhard Melzer
TitleDer Cranach-Bestand des Gotischen Hauses
Publicationin Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz, ed., Cranach im Gotischen Haus in Wörlitz, Exhib. Cat. Wörlitz
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages149-162
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005 52-53, 54, 56
EditorHarald Marx, Karin Kolb, Ingrid Mössinger
TitleCranach Anlässlich der Ausstellung Cranach vom 13. November 2005 bis 12. März 2006 in den Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz. Eine Ausstellung in Kooperation mit der Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Show Literature
Melzer 2005 52-54, 56 Pl. 17
AuthorReinhard Melzer
TitleCranach in Wörlitz. Das Gotische Haus als frühe Sammlungsstätte altdeutscher Malerei
Publicationin Harald Marx, Ingrid Mössinger, Karin Kolb, ed., Cranach. Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Pages44-58
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

[...] there is a large epitaph dedicated to Agnes of Barby (1540-1569), the first wife of Prince Joachim Ernst of Anhalt (1536-1586), hanging in the chapel of Nienburg castle, in which the boy is represented. [...] It is signed and dated 1570 and is without doubt the work of Lucas Cranach the Younger. The portrait sketch in the 'Gotisches haus' can therefore be classified as an autographed work by this this artist [...]. [Melzer 2005, 56]

  • Prince Johann Georg I. zu Anhalt as a Child, about 1570

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse
  • irr

Technical studies

03. 2015Technical Examination

Support

- the paper support has been attached to an oak panel

- the panel consists of two vertically aligned planks (widths 14.3 and 9.4 cm); the joins are visible on both sides

  • examined by Gunnar Heydenreich

03. 2015Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Material:

- dry drawing material (dark chalk)

Type/Ductus:

- relatively economic freehand underdrawing

- fine lines

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines delineate the main contours and define facial features; no representation of volume with hatching-strokes

Abweichungen:

- minor alterations made during the painting process to clearly define forms; almost no changes

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Lucas Cranach the Younger

[Sandner, Smith-Contini, Heydenreich, cda 2015]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

Condition Reports

Date03. 2015

There are two vertical battens attached to the reverse, one was glued over the join

  • examined by Gunnar Heydenreich

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Prince Johann Georg I. zu Anhalt as a Child', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_KsDW_I-66/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Prince Johann Georg I. zu Anhalt as a Child', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_KsDW_I-66/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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