St Catherine

St Catherine

Title

St Catherine

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Painting on limewood

Medium

Painting on limewood

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

lime wood

[Peter Klein Report, 25.02.1988]

St Catharine is depicted standing frontally in a balanced contrapposto and occupies the central axis of the painting. The vertical direction of the erect body and the sword is counteracted twofold by the arc of the wheel and the edge of the curtain on the right, which sways in the

St Catharine is depicted standing frontally in a balanced contrapposto and occupies the central axis of the painting. The vertical direction of the erect body and the sword is counteracted twofold by the arc of the wheel and the edge of the curtain on the right, which sways in the same direction.

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 60]

Attributions
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Gotha 2015, No. 4] [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 31]

Hans Baldung Grien

[Cat. Kassel 1819, 13]

Production dates
about 1510
about 1504

Production dates

about 1510

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

about 1504

[Flechsig 1900 B, 81]

about 1510 - 1515

[Exhib. Cat. Gotha 2015, No. 4]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 74.3 x 27.3 x 0.5-0.7 cm (bottom slightly trimmed)

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 74.3 x 27.3 x 0.5-0.7 cm (bottom slightly trimmed)

  • [Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Signature / Dating
None
Inscriptions and Labels
Recto of the panel: - at the bottom left: in red paint '1911' Verso of the panel: - two labels from the Staatl. …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Recto of the panel: - at the bottom left:
  • in red paint '1911'
  • Verso of the panel:
  • - two labels from the Staatl. Museen Kassel
  • - illegible inscription in pencil
  • - in coloured pencil 'pr. 13'
  • - in pencil 'R'
  • [Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]
Owner
Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel
Repository
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel
Location
Kassel
CDA ID
DE_MHK_GK12
FR (1978) Nr.
FR031
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MHK_GK12/

Provenance

  • 1827 aquired at the auction of the Campe Collection
  • then it was attached to the All Saints Altar by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Kassel, GK 30) as an exterior wing panel.

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Exhibitions

Basel 1974, no. 594a
Kassel 2015, no. 4

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Cat. Coburg 2018 34 under no. 1
AuthorKlaus Weschenfelder
TitleCranach in Coburg. Gemälde von Lucas Cranach d.Ä., Lucas Cranach d.J., der Werkstatt und des Umkreises in den Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg
Place of PublicationRegensburg
Year of Publication2018
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel 2015 100, 101 4 Pl. p. 101; Fig. 1
EditorJulia Carrasco, Justus Lange, Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha, Benjamin D. Spira, Timo Trümper
TitleBild und Botschaft. Cranach im Dienst von Hof und Reformation, [Gotha, Herzogliches Museum; Kassel, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Schloss Wilhelmshöhe]
Place of PublicationHeidelberg
Year of Publication2015
Show Literature
Heydenreich 2007 A 42, 102, 124, 206, 345, 394
AuthorGunnar Heydenreich
TitleLucas Cranach the Elder
Place of PublicationAmsterdam
Year of Publication2007
Link https://lucascranach.org/application/files/6116/2097/3099/Heydenreich_2007_Lucas_Cranach_the_Elder.pdf
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005 391, 393 Fn. 6 under No. 30
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
Exhib. Cat. Prague 2005 46 (English version 22) under no. 1
EditorObrazárna Pražského hradu, Kaliopi Chamonikola
TitlePod znamením okrídleného hada. Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme. Under the winged Serpent. Lucas Cranach and the Czech Land
Place of PublicationPrague
Year of Publication2005
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1997 59-64
AuthorAnja Schneckenburger-Broschek
EditorStaatliche Museen Kassel
TitleAltdeutsche Malerei. Die Tafelbilder und Altäre des 14. bis 16. Jahrhunderts in der Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister und im Hessischen Landesmuseum Kassel. Bestandskatalog Staatliche Museen Kassel
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication1997
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1996 88
EditorBernhard Schnackenburg
TitleGesamtkatalog Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. Staatliche Museen Kassel
Place of PublicationMainz
Year of Publication1996
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1982 16-17, 56, 62 86
AuthorAnja Schneckenburger-Broschek
TitleDie Altdeutsche Malerei. Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Kassel
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1982
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 031
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Levenson 1978 221
AuthorJ. A. Levenson
TitleJacopo de Barbari and the Northern Art of the Early sixteenth century
Place of PublicationNew York
Year of Publication1978
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976 682 No. 594a
AuthorDieter Koepplin, Tilman Falk
TitleLukas Cranach. Gemälde, Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik
Volume1, 2
Place of PublicationBasel, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1974
Link http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-diglit-104522
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1969 56
AuthorE. Herzog
TitleDie Gemäldegalerie der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Kassel
Place of PublicationHanau
Year of Publication1969
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1958 47 12
AuthorHeinrich Vogel
TitleKatalog der Staatlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Kassel
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1958
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 030
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
Cat. Kassel 1929 18, 99 12
AuthorK. Luhmer
TitleKatalog der Staatlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Kassel
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1929
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1913 13, 58 12
AuthorG. Gronau
TitleKatalog der Königlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Cassel. Amtliche Ausgabe
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1913
Show Literature
Michaelson 1902 34-35
AuthorHedwig Michaelson
TitleLukas Cranach der Ältere. Untersuchung über die stilistische Entwicklung seiner Kunst
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1902
Show Literature
Flechsig 1900 B 81, 85, 88, 130
AuthorEduard Flechsig
TitleTafelbilder Lucas Cranachs d. Ä. und seiner Werkstatt
Volume1, 2
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1900
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/flechsig1900tafeln
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1888 6 8
AuthorOskar Eisenmann
TitleKatalog der Königlichen Gemälde-Galerie zu Cassel
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1888
Link https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101058641414&view=1up&seq=1
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1877 7 58
AuthorK. Chr. Aubel
TitleVerzeichniß der in dem Lokale der Neuen Gemälde-Gallerie zu Cassel befindlichen Bilder
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1877
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1845 9 58
AuthorK. Chr. Aubel
TitleAuszug aus dem Verzeichnisse der Kurfürstlichen Gemälde-Sammlung
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1845
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1819 13 58
AuthorErnst Friedrich Ferdinand Robert
TitleVersuch eines Verzeichnisses der Kurfürstlich Hessischen Gemälde-Sammlung
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1819
Link https://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/id/PPN879181362?tify=%7B%22pages%22%3A%5B5%5D%2C%22view%22%3A%22info%22%7D
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

The central part of the altar was probably a Virgin and Child, represented either as a sculpture in a shrine or as a painting. A corresponding example of this iconographical constellation within Cranach's work can be found in the depiction of the Virgin on the central panel in Tuscon, Arizona University of Arizona Gallery, which is flanked by Catharine on the left wing panel and Barbara on the right one (Brne, Moravská gálerie v Brne; Friedländer/Rosenberg 1979, No. 46, 47). A reconstruction reveals the central panel must have been c. 74 cm high and c. 46 cm wide. These dimensions almost correspond with those of the Virgin by Cranach in the Fundación Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid (71.5 x 44.2 cm; Friedländer/Rosenberg 1979, No. 30). In addition the Virgin on the central panel was - like the female saints on the wing panels - probably represented against a flat background without landscape details.

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 63-64]

The infrared reflectogram of the reverse of the panel depicting St Catharine reveals that the figure of the Virgin from an Annunciation scene was originally painted here. On the basis of deduction it may be assumed that the figure of an angel must have adorned the reverse of the other panel. [1] (compare figs. 1 and 2) A panel depicting the angel Gabriel in Dortmund is similar in format and date (about 1515). [2] The less usual composition of the angel appearing to the Virgin from the right also appears in a similar manner on the the external wing panels of an Altarpiece by the Cranach workshop in the village church of Klieken in Sachsen-Anhalt, which is dated about 1515.[3]

[1] Now this panel is only 0.2 cm thick as the painted reverse was separated at some stage before the Campe collection was auctioned. The panel depicting St Catharine is 0.5-0.7 cm thick [Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

[2] Oil on wood, 69 x 27 cm, Dortmund, Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte (Loan from the Federal Republic of Germany)

[3] Cat. Halle 2009, 12-15, the central element consists of a sculptural representation of the Virgin and two assistants.

[Lange, Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel 2015, 100]

Particular striking on the panels in Kassel is the style of the female saints' haloes, which is very rare in Cranach's oeuvre and suggests a specific request from the commissioner. A further panel depicting the Virgin and the infant St John is similar with regards the dimensions and the rendition of the haloes. [1] This panel is dated about 1512, so that - if they should be related - would require a slightly later dating of the two wing panels. However large discrepancies with regards the painterly quality suggest that the central panel may have been a copy.

[1] oil on wood, 75.9 x 59.4 cm, about 1512, private collection, Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, No. 17

[Lange, Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel 2015, 100]

see also MHK online database, accessed 07.12.2020

Connected Works

St Barbara
  • St Barbara, about 1510
  • DE_MHK_GK13
  • Painting
  • Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel
  • St Catherine, about 1510

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse

Documents

Technical studies

1997Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology
  • Infrared reflectography

Support

- limewood according to a report by Dr. P. Klein, Hamburg (25.02.1988)

- a single board with the grain running vertically

- the panel has been trimmed slightly along the bottom edge

Ground and Imprimatura

- the barbe along the top, left and right edges has been partially preserved, but not along the bottom

Underdrawing

- recto: an underdawing was not visible in the infrared reflectogram

- verso: remnants of a female figure with arms crossed over her breast

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

  • examined by Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel

25.02.1988Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Identification of wood species: limewood

  • analysed by Peter Klein

Condition Reports

Date1997

  • the sky is in part abraded; there are dark patches, remains of an old varnish and a probable original glaze; apart from the abrasion and retouching the panel is in good condition

  • a protective coating was applied to the reverse of the panel; at both the top and bottom of the panel there are additional vertical battens; beneath the coating there are remains of an original painting on a gold backgound showing a repesentation of a female figure; in areas of loss in the coating remnants of an old oilgilding are visible

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Conservation History

Date1988

  • technical examination and conservation treatment

[Curatorial files, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Kassel]

Date1956

  • conservation treatment after return from Vienna

[Curatorial files, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Kassel]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'St Catherine', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MHK_GK12/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'St Catherine', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MHK_GK12/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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