Friedrich the Wise, Elector of Saxony

Friedrich the Wise, Elector of Saxony

Title

Friedrich the Wise, Elector of Saxony

[cda 2013]

Painting on beech

Medium

Painting on beech

[Schloss Gottorf, revised 2013]

Bust portrait of the Saxon Elector Friedrich the Wise depicted in three-quarter profile facing right.

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Schloss Gottorf, revised 2013]

Production date
1525

Production date

1525

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 28.7 x 23.5 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 28.7 x 23.5 cm

  • [Schloss Gottorf, revised 2013]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia top left: serpent (with elevated wings) and date '1525'

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia top left: serpent (with elevated wings) and date '1525'

Inscriptions and Labels

Reverse of the panel: - top:
label, written by Johann Caspar Lavater (1741-1801):
'Churfürst / Friederich von Sachsen / …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of the panel: - top:

  • label, written by Johann Caspar Lavater (1741-1801):

  • 'Churfürst / Friederich von Sachsen / von Lucas Cranach. / Frommes, treues Gesicht, so derb- / deutsch, fest und so mannhaft! Send' im / gothischen Saal ein geistiges Lächeln / dem Treüsten, Arges nicht kennenden / Fürsten, der mir so fern und so nah' ist. / Zürich 9. 1. 1787 Joh. Casp. Lavater'

  • Stamp: 'Herzogl. Hofgärtnerei'

    • centre:

  • 'Churfürst Johann Friedrich der Großmüthige, von Sachsen . 1552'

    • bottom:

  • note: '52. 1512'

  • [Schloss Gottorf, revised 2013]

Owner
Stiftung Rolf Horn
Repository
Schloss Gottorf, Landesmuseum für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte, Schleswig
Location
Schleswig
CDA ID
DE_SHLM_NONE-001
FR (1978) Nr.
FR180
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SHLM_NONE-001/

Provenance

  • 1932 still property of the dynasty of the princes of Anhalt-Dessau (1773/74 in Wörlitz, recorded in the Gothic House)

[Schloss Gottorf, revised 2013]

Exhibitions

Hamburg 2003, no. 24
Brussels 2011, no. 37

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Melzer 2015 B 151, 152
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. Brussels 2010 127 37 p. 127
EditorBozarbooks & Lannoo, Guido Messling
TitleDie Welt des Lucas Cranach. Ein Künstler im Zeitalter von Dürer, Tizian und Metsys [anlässlich der Ausstellung "Die Welt des Lucas Cranach", Palast der Schönen Künste, Brüssel, 20. Oktober 2010 - 23. Januar 2011]
Place of PublicationBrussels
Year of Publication2010
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Hamburg 2003 30, 170, 171 024 Pl. 24
EditorBucerius Kunst Forum, Werner Schade
TitleLucas Cranach. Glaube, Mythologie und Moderne [Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg]
Place of PublicationOstfildern-Ruit
Year of Publication2003
Show Literature
Cat. Schleswig 1997 274 No. 92
EditorHeinz Spielmann
TitleSchloß Gottorf und seine Sammlungen. Renaissance und Barock
SeriesNeue Bildhefte
Place of PublicationSchleswig
Year of Publication1997
Show Literature
Schade, Schuttwolf 1994 28
AuthorWerner Schade, Allmuth Schuttwolf
TitleMalerei und Plastik
Publicationin Allmuth Schuttwolf, ed., Gotteswort und Menschenbild. Werke von Cranach und seinen Zeitgenossen, Exhib. Cat. Gotha
Place of PublicationGotha
Year of Publication1994
Pages15-94
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 106 No. 180 Fig. 180
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 152 Fig. 152
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

Research History / Discussion

[see also Museen Nord, online database, accessed 25.01.2023]

  • Friedrich the Wise, Elector of Saxony, 1525

Images

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

Technical studies

08. 2012Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid or dry drawing material, brush? chalk?

Type/Ductus:

- underdrawing with copied lines (traced?)

- thin lines

Function:

- binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe the facial features; no representation of volume

Deviations:

- minor alterations made during the painting process to clearly define form

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- not possible

Comment:

- probably transferred from a pre-existing design (traced lines)

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2013]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Friedrich the Wise, Elector of Saxony', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SHLM_NONE-001/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Friedrich the Wise, Elector of Saxony', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SHLM_NONE-001/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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