The Virgin nursing the Child

The Virgin nursing the Child

Titles

The Virgin nursing the Child

[CDA 2011]

The Virgin

[Exhib. Cat. Weimar, Wittenberg 1953, 32, No. 37]

The Virgin nursing the Child in front of a curtain held up by an angel

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1978, 115, No. 229]

Painting on beech wood

Medium

Painting on beech wood

[Klein, Report 2013]

Wood

[Stuhr, Exhib. Cat. Leipzig, Bonn, Stuttgart 1994, 64]

Paintings depicting the Virgin were created for the purpose of private devotion. This was initiated in the Middle Ages with the growing veneration of the Virgin. Cranach's depiction draws on the iconography of the 'Maria lactans'. The Child has already fallen asleep in his mother's lap. An angel holds up

Paintings depicting the Virgin were created for the purpose of private devotion. This was initiated in the Middle Ages with the growing veneration of the Virgin. Cranach's depiction draws on the iconography of the 'Maria lactans'. The Child has already fallen asleep in his mother's lap. An angel holds up a purple velvet curtain behind them.

[Stuhr, Exhib. Cat. Leipzig, Bonn, Stuttgart 1994, 64]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Stuhr, Exhib. Cat. Leipzig, Bonn, Stuttgart 1994, 64]

Production dates
1530 - 1535
about 1530

Production dates

1530 - 1535

[Stuhr, Exhib. Cat. Leipzig, Bonn, Stuttgart 1994, 64]

about 1530

[Exhib. Cat. Weimar, Wittenberg 1953, 32, No. 37]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 49 x 33 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 49 x 33 cm

  • [Stuhr, Exhib. Cat. Leipzig, Bonn, Stuttgart 1994, 64]

Signature / Dating

None

Owner
Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig
Repository
Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig
Location
Leipzig
CDA ID
DE_MdbKL_1849
FR (1978) Nr.
FR229
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MdbKL_1849/

Provenance

  • Rudolph Weigel Collection
  • 1889 given to Museum by the collector's widow
    [Stuhr, Exhib. Cat. Leipzig, Bonn, Stuttgart 1994, 64]

Exhibitions

Weimar, Wittenberg 1953, No. 37
Basel 1974, 522

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Heydenreich 2015 120, Fn. 29
AuthorGunnar Heydenreich
TitleHans Cranach. Auf der Suche nach seinem verlorenen Oeuvre
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Link https://lucascranach.org/application/files/5415/6232/3883/Heydenreich_2015_-_Hans_Cranach.pdf
Pages116 -127
Show Literature
Sandner, Heydenreich, Smith-Contini 2015 134, Fn. 49
AuthorGunnar Heydenreich, Ingo Sandner, Helen Smith-Contini
TitleVeränderungen beim Unterzeichnen in Cranachs Werkstatt und die Arbeitsweise von Sohn Lucas
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Link https://lucascranach.org/application/files/5215/6337/7366/Heydenreich_Sandner_Smith-Contini_2015_-_Unterzeichnung.pdf
Pages128-141
Show Literature
Cat. Leipzig 1995 35
EditorHerwig Guratzsch
TitleBestandskatalog, Museum der bildenden Künste
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1995
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Bonn 1994 64
EditorHerwig Guratzsch, Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig
TitleVon Lucas Cranach bis Caspar David Friedrich [Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn]
Place of PublicationStuttgart
Year of Publication1994
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 116 No. 229 Fig. 229
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976 No. 522 (Bd. 2)
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
Exhib. Cat. Weimar, Wittenberg 1953 No. 37
AuthorWalther Scheidig
EditorDeutsche Lucas Cranach Komitee
TitleLucas Cranach Ausstellung. Weimar und Wittenberg
Place of PublicationWeimar, Wittenberg
Year of Publication1953
Show Literature
Parthey 1863-1864 684 No. 104
AuthorGustav Parthey
TitleDeutscher Bildersaal. Verzeichnis der in Deutschland vorhandenen Oelbilder verstorbener Maler aller Schulen
Volume1, 2
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1864
Show Literature
Cat. Leipzig 1857 33, 34
AuthorChristian Schuchardt
TitleCatalog der Kunstwerke im Museum zu Leipzig, nebst biographischen Mitteilungen über die Künstler
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1857
Link https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/93352/5
Show Literature
Schuchardt 1851 C 81 330
AuthorChristian Schuchardt
TitleLucas Cranach des Aeltern Leben und Werke. Zweiter Theil
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1851
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schuchardt1851bd2
Show Literature
Kunstverein Leipzig 1850 4
EditorKunstverein Leipzig
TitleBericht
JournalJahresbericht des Leipziger Kunstvereins
Issue7
Year of Publication1850
Show Literature
  • The Virgin nursing the Child, 1530 - 1535

Images

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

Documents

Technical studies

26.10.2013Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Identification of wood species: beech wood

Youngest annual ring: 1528

[Klein Report, 26.10.2013]

  • analysed by Peter Klein

10. 2012Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • UV-light photography
  • uv_light
  • photographed by Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig

06. 2010Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- dry medium, dark chalk

Type/Ductus:

- freehand and in part traced underdrawing

- thin, frequently, unbroken lines

Function:

- essentially binding for the final painted version; lines describe contours and indicate the main features within the forms; no representation of volume

Deviations:

- minor alterations were made during the painting process

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- workshop

Comments:

- possibly with reference to a preparatory drawing or even a pre-existing design

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2012]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner
  • X-radiography
  • x_radiograph

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Virgin nursing the Child', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MdbKL_1849/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Virgin nursing the Child', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MdbKL_1849/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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