Lucretia

Lucretia

Titles

Lucretia

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 95, No. 122] [Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, 322, No. 100]

The Suicide of Lucretia

[Cat. Cassel 1997, 65-68]

Painting on limewood

Medium

Painting on limewood

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 65-68]
[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 95, No. 122]
[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, 322, No. 100]

The panel in Kassel depicts Lucretia as a three-quarter length figure in contemporary dress sitting in front of a landscape. Her head is inclined slightly to the left and she stares into the far distance. Her hands hold the dagger in her lap, and it is pointed towards her breast.

The panel in Kassel depicts Lucretia as a three-quarter length figure in contemporary dress sitting in front of a landscape. Her head is inclined slightly to the left and she stares into the far distance. Her hands hold the dagger in her lap, and it is pointed towards her breast.

Lucretia wears a dark, contemporary dress. The sleeves are stepped and have decorative slits. She wears a white undergarment that billows out above the elbow, and has slipped off her shoulder to reveal her breast. She is framed by a red fur-lined overcoat, which is draped over her left shoulder, falls down her back and emerges on the right to cover her lap. Her blond hair is pinned up artistically and decorated with pearls. Around her neck she wears a heavy chain, a delicate gold necklace and a chain with pearls and precious stones with a renaissance pendant. The precious jewellery is contrasted by the simplicity of the long dagger.

There is a mountainous landscape with a castle in the background.

[see Cat. Kassel 1997, 65-68]

According to the legend Lucretia lived in the 6th century BC and was the beautiful and virtuous wife of the roman Collatinus. The roman King's son - Sextus Tarquinius fell in love with her. During a stay in her house Sextus threatened to kill her and shame her honour if she did not surrender to him. After the rape Lucretia had her father and husband vow vengeance and then she stabbed herself. The event led to an uprising in which the royal family was overthrown and the Roman Empire became a Republic.

Depictions of Lucretia who was seen as the epitomy of female virtue, chastity, fidelity and honour enjoyed great popularity, particularly in the 16th century.

[Literature: Bierende 2002, Follak 2002, Livius 1909]

Attributions
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Cat. Cassel 1997, 65-68]

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Gotha 2015, No. 67] [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 95, No. 122]

Production dates
about 1518
1525-30

Production dates

about 1518

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 95, No. 122]
[Cat. Kassel 1997, 65-68]
[Exhib. Cat. Gotha 2015, No. 67]

1525-30

[Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, 322, No. 100]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 41.6 x 28.3 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 41.6 x 28.3 cm

  • [Cat. Kassel 1997, 65-68]

Signature / Dating

None

Inscriptions and Labels

Reverse of the panel: - inscription in green chalk: 'Lucas Cranach proviend de la famille de Sanrart d'Augsburg'

  • a seal …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of the panel: - inscription in green chalk: 'Lucas Cranach proviend de la famille de Sanrart d'Augsburg'

    • a seal with a coat-of-arms in red sealing wax: a man with raised arms, holding something in his hand; a helmet with a crest of three ostrich feathers
    • a seal with a coat-of-arms in black sealing wax: two shields next to each other, probably a matrimonial coat-of-arms, on the left one a series of antlers
    • label: Staatlichen Museen Kassel, 20th century
    • exhibition label: 'Cranach exhibition 1937, Deutsches Museum, Berlin'

  • [Cat. Kassel 1997, 65-68]

Owner
Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel
Repository
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel
Location
Kassel
CDA ID
DE_MHK_GK14
FR (1978) Nr.
FR122
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MHK_GK14/

Provenance

  • 1885 acquired from the art dealer Gutekunst, Stuttgart
    [Cat. Kassel 1997, 65-68]
    [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, 95, No. 122]
    [Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, 322, No. 100]
  • not mentioned in the gallery guide book (Galerieführer der Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister ) of 1938, probably not on display
    [Voigt 1938]

Exhibitions

Berlin 1937, no. 34
Frankfurt, London 2007/2008, no. 100
Rome 2010, no. 25
Gotha, Kassel 2015, no. 67

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Cat. Coburg 2018 99, fn. 12 under no. 16
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
Dohe 2015 48
AuthorSebastian Dohe
TitleAemulatio, Anspruch und Austausch. Cranachs Kunst im höfischen Dienst
Publicationin Julia Carrasco, Justus Lange, Benjamin D. Spira, Timo Trümper, Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein Gotha and Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel, eds., Bild und Botschaft. Cranach im Dienst von Hof und Reformation, [Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel]
Place of PublicationHeidelberg
Year of Publication2015
Pages43-50
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel 2015 224, 225 67 Pl. p. 225
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
Herrschaft, Heydenreich 2014 93-94 2
AuthorGunnar Heydenreich, Jana Herrschaft
TitleUna Lucrecia de Lucas Cranach el Viejo en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao / A Lucretia by Lucas Cranach the Elder at the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum
JournalBilbao Fine Arts Museum Bulletin
Issue8
Year of Publication2014
Link https://lucascranach.org/application/files/7016/2097/3068/Herrschaft_Heydenreich_2014_A_Lucretia_by_Cranach_the_Elder.pdf
Pages85-109
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Rome 2010 210, 211 No. 25 Pl. p. 211
EditorGalleria Borghese, Rome, Anna Coliva, Bernard Aikema
TitleCranach. L'altro rinascimento / a different renaissance, [Rome, Galleria Borghese 15 ottobre 2010 - 13 febbraio 2011]
Place of PublicationMilan
Year of Publication2010
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007 322-323 100 p. 323
EditorBodo Brinkmann
TitleCranach der Ältere, [Frankfurt, Städel Museum, 23 Nov 2007 - 17 Feb 2008]
Place of PublicationOstfildern
Year of Publication2007
Show Literature
Heydenreich 2007 A 416
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
Follak 2002
AuthorJan Follak
TitleLucretia zwischen positiver und negativer Anthropologie: Coluccio Salutatis Declamatio Lucretie und die Menschenbilder im exemplum der Lucretia von der Antike bis in die Neuzeit
Place of PublicationKonstanz
Year of Publication2002
Link http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:352-opus-9144
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1997 65-68 Figs. 41, 42, 43
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
Grewenig 1987 105 136
AuthorM. M. Grewenig
TitleDer Akt in der deutschen Renaissance. Die Einheit von Nacktheit und Leib in der bildenden Kunst. Wissenschaft und Forschung
Place of PublicationFreren
Year of Publication1987
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1982 44-45, 62
AuthorAnja Schneckenburger-Broschek
TitleDie Altdeutsche Malerei. Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Kassel
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1982
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 95 No. 122 Fig. 122
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1958 14
AuthorHeinrich Vogel
TitleKatalog der Staatlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Kassel
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1958
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1937 21 034 Pl. 35
EditorStaatliche Museen, Berlin
TitleLucas Cranach d. Ä. und Lucas Cranach d. J. Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Graphik
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1937
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 50 103
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, 99 141
AuthorK. Luhmer
TitleKatalog der Staatlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Kassel
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1929
Show Literature
Glaser 1923 233
AuthorCurt Glaser
TitleLukas Cranach
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1923
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/glaser1923
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1913 13, 58 14
AuthorG. Gronau
TitleKatalog der Königlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Cassel. Amtliche Ausgabe
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1913
Show Literature
Michaelson 1902 99
AuthorHedwig Michaelson
TitleLukas Cranach der Ältere. Untersuchung über die stilistische Entwicklung seiner Kunst
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1902
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

The Lucretia in Kassel differs in size and monumentality from the delicacy of the other Lucretias. The Glogauer Virgin (FR088) and the Virgin dated 1518 in the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum are very similar.

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 65-68]

In the series of Lucretia paintings this early painting is the first with a complete landscape in the background and according to the most recent research there is only one other Lucretia from the Cranach workshop in a similar setting. Some of the later works show a view of a landscape visible through a window, like the painting in Coburg (FR121), which is stylistically similar and of about the same date. The Lucretia by an anonymous master from the workshop of Cranach the Elder in the BStGS is stylistically similar to this painting.

[Herrschaft, cda 2010]

Although more decriptive than narrating, the context has not yet been so extensively reduced to leave Lucretia standing against a monochrome backdrop as is the case in many of the later works of this subject from the workshop. Nevertheless the subject of the honest virtue of the heroine and above all her exposure legitimises the beautiful sight for the (male) viewer. [1] An invoice from the Wittenberg court from the year 1518 mentions two depictions of Lucretia, which Cranach had placed in cases - perhap as a form of protection for transportation, but more likely to secure private if not intime contemplation.[2]

The early and initially mostly half-length representations of Lucretia by Cranach from about 1510 can be traced back to a netherlandish pictorial type employed by Joos van Cleve and others, which the artist must have seen during his trip to Antwerp in 1508.[3] Although the panel in Kassel is very similar to this prototype later Cranach's evolution of this subjet took another path, renouncing the motif of gradual disclosure. His workshop produced around about 40 different versions of the subject with varying basic types.

[1] See: Tacke 2010, 10 f.

[2] Schade 1974, 409, No. 151

[3] See Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, 322 under No. 100. As a comparison see other early works from c. 1510: auction New York (Sotheby's), 26. January 2012, No. 34 and in a private collection Exhib. Cat. Hamburg 2003, 183, No. 78, fig. p. 80

[Exhib. Cat. Gotha/Kassel 2015, 224]

[see also MHK online database, accessed 07.12.2020]

  • Lucretia, about 1518

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse
  • irr
  • uv_light
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail

Technical studies

2008Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Material:

- fluid, black drawing medium, brush

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing

- thin lines

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version (evaluation is limited to a detail); the lines delineate the main contours and describe the facial features; no representation of volume with hatching-strokes

Deviations:

- adjustments were made to forms during the painting process; small changes (e. g. position of the head)

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Lucas Cranach the Elder or workshop

Comments:

- at present there is only a reflectogram of the head available

[Sandner, Smith-Contini, Heydenreich, cda 2016]

  • photographed by Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel

1997Technical Examination

  • reverse

Support

Verso: original state, with the exception of two battens, which were adhered at a later date

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 65]

The panel consists of two boards. There is a vertical split along the left edge area of one of the planks. The condition of the support suggests the wooden panel is sensitive to fluctuations in environmental conditions. In addition the horizontal battens on the reverse of the panel hinder the natural movement of the support.

[Files of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Kassel, 30.10.2009]

Ground and Imprimatura

A rebate and barbe have been preserved on all four sides. A black border, in places up to 0.4 cm wide frames the image. It was probably intended to cover the barbe.

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 65]

  • UV-light photography
  • uv_light

Condition Reports

Date1997

The painting is in very good condition apart from the abrasion of the painted surface in the dark areas.

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 65]

Date1988

  • examination carried out for the catalogue of Early German painting

[Files of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Kassel]

Conservation History

Date1983

  • conservation treatment by C. Walther

[Files of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Kassel]

Date1961

  • minor corection made to old retouches and the varnish

[Files of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Kassel]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Lucretia', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MHK_GK14/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Lucretia', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MHK_GK14/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

Help us to improve the Cranach Digital Archive.

Please contact us, if you have noticed a mistake.