Portrait of Elector August

Portrait of Elector August

Title

Portrait of Elector August

[cda 2017]

Painting on canvas

Medium

Painting on canvas

[Stadt- und Bergbaumuseum Freiberg, revised 2017]

Life-size, full-length figure in black spanish dress, richly embroidered with gold. On his head he wears a black hat that is embroidered as well as decorated with a feather. His beard is blond and he is positioned in front of an arcade. He holds his gloves in his right hand

Life-size, full-length figure in black spanish dress, richly embroidered with gold. On his head he wears a black hat that is embroidered as well as decorated with a feather. His beard is blond and he is positioned in front of an arcade. He holds his gloves in his right hand that is placed on his hip, while his left hand rests on his dagger.

[http://www.museum-digital.de/sachsen/index.php?t=objekt&suinin=54&oges=1154] (accessed 17.02.2017)

Attributions
Lucas Cranach the Younger
Lucas Cranach the Younger (and Workshop)

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Younger

[Stadt- und Bergbaumuseum Freiberg, revised 2017]
[Manuscript, Stadtarchiv Freiberg] [Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005, 520]
[Exhib. Cat. Dresden 1989, 106, No. 147]

Lucas Cranach the Younger (and Workshop)

[Heydenreich, cda 2017]

Production date
1572

Production date

1572

[Manuscript, Stadtarchiv Freiberg]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 226 x 111 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 226 x 111 cm

  • [http://www.museum-digital.de/sachsen/index.php?t=objekt&suinin=54&oges=1154] (accessed 2017-02-15)

  • Dimensions including frame: 248 x 132 cm

  • [Cat. Freiberg 2005, 126]

Owner
Stadt- und Bergbaumuseum Freiberg
Repository
Stadt- und Bergbaumuseum Freiberg
Location
Freiberg
CDA ID
DE_SBMF_01
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SBMF_01/

Connected Works

Portrait of Electress Anna
  • Portrait of Electress Anna, 1572
  • DE_SBMF_02
  • Painting
  • Stadt- und Bergbaumuseum Freiberg

Provenance

  • handed over personally by Lucas Cranach the Younger in 1572 to the council (recorded in a document held in the Stadtarchiv Freiberg)
    [Cat. Freiberg 2005, 126]
  • 1572 gift from elector August to the municipal council of Freiberg
  • after 1884 from the municipal house to the Stadt- und Bergbaumuseum
    [Exhib. Cat. Dresden 1989, 106, No. 147]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Cat. Freiberg 2005 126, 127 Fig. p. 127
AuthorUlrich Thiel
TitleStadt- und Bergbaumuseum Freiberg
SeriesSächsische Museen
Volume17
Place of PublicationAltenburg; Chemnitz
Year of Publication2005
Show Literature
CDA.Bloh 2005 180
AuthorJutta Charlotte von Bloh
TitleKleidung und Waffen in den Fürstenbildnissen der Cranachs
Publicationin Harald Marx, Ingrid Mössinger, Karin Kolb, eds., Cranach, Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Pages174-181
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005 520, 521 under No. 49 Fig. 224
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. Dresden 1989 90, 106 No. 147 Fig. 147
EditorManfred Bachmann, Albertinum, Dresden
TitleDer silberne Boden. Kunst und Bergbau in Sachsen
Place of PublicationDresden
Year of Publication1989
Show Literature
Knebel 1899 25
EditorKonrad Knebel
Titlen. t.
JournalMitteilung der Freiberger Altertumsvereins
Place of PublicationFreiberg
IssueHeft 36
Year of Publication1899
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

The two paintings depict the saxon ruler and his wife [DE_SBMF_02] aged about 40, wearing the spanish courtly dress that was popular at the time. Despite the black base tones the viewer easily recognizes the subtle splendour of their clothing, an expression of the Wettin family's great wealth [...]

[The paintings] also document Elector august's close relationship with Freiberg.

[Cat. Freiberg 2005, 126]

  • Portrait of Elector August, 1572

Images

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Technical studies

08. 2016Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Material:

- dry, dark drawing material, stylus

Type/Ductus:

- free hand, schematic underdrawing (where visible)

- delicate lines

Function:

- binding for the final painted version; (where visible) the lines define the contours of the figure and describe facial features; no representaation of volume

Deviations:

- only very minor corrections were made during the painting process; no changes

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Lucas Cranach the Younger

[Sandner, Heydenreich, Smith-Contini, cda 2017]

  • photographed by Ingo Sandner
  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich

Support

- fabric support, nailed to a strainer on the front

- the edges have been considerably cropped; no tacking margin

- the nails and edgee have been extensively overpainted

[S. Göschel, unpublished conservation report 02.1998]

Framing

- the frame is probably original, new finish

[Heydenreich, cda 2017]

Condition Reports

Date02. 1998

  • deformations in the support from the top, left corner to the centre of the painting and along the bottom edge, the support is brittle

  • at the top left the slotted side of the frame is worn and the dowels are loose.

  • the top cross-member of the strainer is missing

  • surface dirt

  • milky opaque, patchy varnish surface (probably an aged synthetic resin varnish)

  • saponification of the lead white employed in the cloak

  • numerous overpainted areas have discoloured, some of these extend considerably over the original

  • numerous patches on the reverse

  • examined by Susanne Göschel

Conservation History

Date02. 1998

  • surface cleaning with enzymes

  • the dirt between the fabric and the bottom strainer member was removed, the reverse was dry cleaned with a vacuum cleaner

  • the strainer was realigned and stabilised

  • a cross-member was made for the strainer

  • small losses on the frame were toned in

  • conservation treatment by Susanne Göschel

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Portrait of Elector August', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SBMF_01/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Portrait of Elector August', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SBMF_01/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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