Portrait of a bearded Man

Portrait of a bearded Man

Title

Portrait of a bearded Man

[Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, revised 2012]

Painting on beech

Medium

Painting on beech

[Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, revised 2012]

The present panel depicts a half-length figure of a man with a square jaw, clipped beard and crisply defined features. The format, composition and technique are close to that of the Cranach studio in the 1530s but the panel can be identified as a work by Hans Cranach due to

The present panel depicts a half-length figure of a man with a square jaw, clipped beard and crisply defined features. The format, composition and technique are close to that of the Cranach studio in the 1530s but the panel can be identified as a work by Hans Cranach due to the presence of the initials 'HC'. The panel is dated 1534 next to the sitter's left shoulder. It has been suggested that it is a self-portrait due to the inscription on it reading 'Hans Maller von Cranach'. In addition, Falk and Koepplin (1974/1976) suggested that it was a self-portrait which formed a pair with 'Portrait of a young Woman' in the Petit Palais in Paris. However, Hans Cranach did not marry and it is now thought that the present panel and the one in Paris depict a patrician couple, probably from Wittenberg.

[Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, revised 2012]

Attributions
Hans Cranach
Hans von Kulmbach

Attributions

Hans Cranach

[Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, revised 2012]

Hans von Kulmbach

on a label attached to the reverse of the panel

Production date
1534

Production date

1534

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 51.4 x 35.1 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 51.4 x 35.1 cm

  • Dimensions including frame: 73 x 57 cm

  • [Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, revised 2012]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia on the right in the background: 'H. C.' and dated '1534'

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia on the right in the background: 'H. C.' and dated '1534'

  • (visible in old photographs from before 1974)

  • [Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, revised 2012]

Inscriptions and Labels

Reverse of the panel: - old label

  • also on the reverse are fragments of a seal of the city of …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of the panel: - old label

    • also on the reverse are fragments of a seal of the city of Leipzig
    • older label attributing the painting to Hans von Kulmbach.

  • [Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, revised 2012]

Owner
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
Repository
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
Location
Madrid
CDA ID
ES_MTB_109-1949-1
FR (1978) Nr.
FR342
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/ES_MTB_109-1949-1/

Provenance

  • in the collection of Freiherr von Schenck, Schloss Flechtingen, near Magdeburg
  • Gallery A. E. Fleischmann, Munich, 1933
  • Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Lugano, 1933
  • Gallery Julius Böhler, Munich, 1949
  • on the death of Hans Thyssen-Bornemisza in 1948 it was inherited by one of his heirs
  • Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Lugano, 1949
  • in 1992 on deposit in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
  • in 1993 aquired by the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

[Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, revised 2012]

Exhibitions

Basel 1974, No. 625
Frankfurt 2007 - 2008, No. 120

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Heydenreich 2015 118-124, Fn. 38, 57 Figs. 1, 5g
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
Horký 2015 111, Fn. 55
AuthorMila Horký
TitleVon Schlangen mit 'gesenkten', 'liegenden' und 'aufstehenden' Flügeln. Eine Sichtung der Forschung zu den Signets der Malerfamilie Cranach mit Ausblick
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages106-115
Show Literature
Cat. Madrid 2009 292 Fig.
EditorMar Borobia, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
TitleMuseo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Pintura Antigua
Place of PublicationMadrid
Year of Publication2009
Show Literature
Brinkmann 2007 23
AuthorBodo Brinkmann
TitleDas Lächeln der Madonna. Lucas Cranach und die Folgen
Publicationin Bodo Brinkmann, ed., Cranach der Ältere, Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt
Place of PublicationOstfildern
Year of Publication2007
Pages17-27
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007 370-371 120 p. 371
EditorBodo Brinkmann
TitleCranach der Ältere, [Frankfurt, Städel Museum, 23 Nov 2007 - 17 Feb 2008]
Place of PublicationOstfildern
Year of Publication2007
Show Literature
Kolb 2005 A 138, 170 Fn. 121, 122 Fig. 59
AuthorKarin Kolb
TitleCranach - Die Gemälde in Dresden und ihre Geschichte
Publicationin Harald Marx, Ingrid Mössinger, Karin Kolb, eds., Cranach. Gemälde aus Dresden, Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Pages112-173
Show Literature
Kolb 2005 C 534
AuthorKarin Kolb
TitleDokumentation zum Dresdener Cranach-Bestand
Publicationin Harald Marx, Ingrid Mössinger, Karin Kolb, eds., Cranach. Gemälde aus Dresden, Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Pages526-572
Show Literature
Kotkova 2005 A 11 (English version 5)
AuthorOlga Kotková
TitleLucas Cranach. Vývesní stít staronemecké malby/ Lucas Cranach. The signboard of Old German Painting
Publicationin Kaliopi Chamonikola, ed., Pod znamením okrídleného hada. Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme, Under the winged Serpent, Lucas Cranach and the Czech Lands, Exhib. Prague 2005
Place of PublicationPrague
Year of Publication2005
Pages8-12 (4-5)
Show Literature
Cat. Madrid 1992 324-325, 671 Fig.
AuthorMar Borobia, Pita Andrade, José Manuel
EditorMuseo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
TitleMaestros Antiguos del Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Place of PublicationBarcelona
Year of Publication1992
Show Literature
Lübbeke 1991 178-181 No. 40 Fig.
AuthorSammlung Thyssen-Bornemisza, Isolde Lübbeke
TitleThe Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. Early German painting 1350-1550
Place of PublicationLondon
Year of Publication1991
Show Literature
Dülberg 1990 221, 222 151 Fig. 63
AuthorAngelica Dülberg
TitlePrivatporträts. Geschichte und Ikonologie einer Gattung im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1990
Show Literature
Cat. Lugano-Castagnola 1989 88 Fig.
AuthorCaroline de Watteville
EditorThyssen-Bornemisza Collection
TitleThe Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. Guide to the Exhibited Works
Place of PublicationMilan
Year of Publication1989
Show Literature
Cat. Lugano-Castagnola 1986 83 No. 75 Fig.
EditorGertrude Borghero, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
TitleThyssen-Bornemisza Collection. Catalogue raisonné of the exhibited works of art
Place of PublicationMilan
Year of Publication1986
Show Literature
Goldberg 1983 B 29-30 Fig.
AuthorGisela Goldberg
TitleOld Master of the German School
JournalApollo
Issue118
Year of Publication1983
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 No. 342
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 575, 698, 701-702, 704-705 No. 625 Figs. 347, 348
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
Schade 1974 78, 415 Fig. 188
AuthorWerner Schade
TitleDie Malerfamilie Cranach
Place of PublicationDresden
Year of Publication1974
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schade1974
Show Literature
Schade 1973 A 117
AuthorWerner Schade
TitleDie Stellung der Söhne innerhalb der Werkstatt Cranachs (1534-1538)
Publicationin P.H. Feist, E. Ullmann, G. Brendler, eds., Lucas Cranach, Künstler und Gesellschaft, Referate des Colloquiums mit internationaler Beteiligung zum 500. Geburtstag Lucas Cranachs d.Ä., Staatliche Lutherhalle Wittenberg, 1.-3. Oktober 1972
Place of PublicationWittenberg
Year of Publication1973
Pages116-118
Show Literature
Cat. Lugano-Castagnola 1971
AuthorJohann Ebbinge-Wubben, Charles James Sterling, Christian A. zu Salm
EditorRudolf Heinemann, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
TitleSammlung Thyssen-Bornemisza
Volume1, 2
Place of PublicationZurich
Year of Publication1971
Show Literature
Cat. Lugano-Castagnola 1969 85 (vol. 1) No. 75 Fig. 62 (vol. 2)
AuthorJohann Ebbinge-Wubben, Charles James Sterling, Christian A. zu Salm
EditorRudolf Heinemann, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
TitleThe Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
Volume1, 2
Place of PublicationLugano-Castagnola
Year of Publication1969
Show Literature
Cat. Lugano-Castagnola 1964
EditorRudolf Heinemann, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection
TitleCollection Chateau de Rohoncz
Place of PublicationLugano
Year of Publication1964
Show Literature
Cat. Lugano-Castagnola 1958 27 No. 103
AuthorRudolf Heinemann
EditorThyssen-Bornemisza Collection
TitleStiftung Sammlung Schloss Rohoncz
Place of PublicationLugano-Castagnola
Year of Publication1958
Show Literature
Giesecke 1955
AuthorAlbert Giesecke
TitleWappen, Siegel und signet Lucas Cranachs und seiner Söhne und ihre Bedeutung für die Cranach-Forschung
JournalZeitschrift für Kunstwissenschaft
Issue9
Year of Publication1955
Pages181-192
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Lugano 1949 25 No. 65
AuthorRudolf Heinemann, Adolf Feulner
EditorThyssen-Bornemisza Collection
TitleAus dem Besitz der Stiftung Sammlung Schloss Rohoncz [Lugano-Castagnola, Villa Favorita]
Place of PublicationLugano-Castagnola
Year of Publication1949
Show Literature
Friedländer 1942 256 Fig. 28
AuthorMax J. Friedländer
TitleOn art and connoisseurship
Place of PublicationLondon
Year of Publication1942
Show Literature
Cat. Lugano-Castagnola 1937 37 103
AuthorRudolf Heinemann
EditorThyssen-Bornemisza Collection
TitleStiftung Sammlung Schloss Rohoncz
Volume2 vols
Place of PublicationLugano-Castagnola
Year of Publication1937
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 80 276 Fig. 276
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

The present portrait follows the composition and format developed by Lucas Cranach the Elder for such images. The bustlength sitter poses before a green background on which a dark green shadow is cast on the left. The light illuminates his square face, a shape that is further emphasised by the cut of the beard. The artist precisely defined important elements such as the eyes, eyebrows and nose, devoting less attention to the body and hands, which are slightly flat.

The panel has been proved to be the pair to another of a woman now in the Musée du Petit Palais, Paris. The female sitter has a similar pose to the present one and the two panels are stylistically comparable in important areas such as the nose and eyebrows, sharing the distinctive shadow on the upper eyelids. The female portrait places greater emphasis on the construction of the hands and clothing, which are more volumetric than in the present panel. The two originally formed a diptych and although the sitters have not been identified it has been suggested that they were a middleclass, married couple from Wittenberg or that the portraits were commissioned on the occasion of their wedding. The two panels are similar in size, with shared stylistic features and have the same type of painted marble effect on the reverse. Attempts have been made to identify this sitter with the artist himself or with his father Lucas Cranach.

[Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, revised 2012]

  • Portrait of a bearded Man, 1534

Images

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

Documents

Technical studies

09.01.2013Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Micro-sampling / cross-sections
  • Instrumental material analysis

Cross-sections; pigment analysis; medium analysis:

Summary translation from the spanish text [ES_MTB_109-1949-1_FR342_2013_Document-001.pdf]

CROSS-SECTION 1

Sample location: green background, top left corner

Brief description:

1. ground: calcium carbonate

2. lead white, verdigris and lead tin yellow

3. green glaze: medium: linseed oil and copper containing pigment (probably verdigris) it cannot be interpreted as a copper resinate, as in this very layer not insufficient 'resina' was identified

4. thin layer of lead white (could be an imprimatura ?)

Medium: walnut oil

Varnish: ketone resin

CROSS-SECTION 2:

Sample location: decoration on the jacket, left edge

Brief description:

1. ground: calcium carbonate

2. lead white (like an imprimatura)

3. lead white, earth pigments, carbon black and some vermilion pigment particles

Medium: linseed oil

CONCLUSION:

An initial ground application containing calcium carbonate is followed by a white layer, like an imprimatura, consisting of lead white. Further layers were applied employing oil as a medium, linseed oil as well as walnut oil in order to mix the pigments. The paint application in the background appears more complex than the decoration of the jacket and was rendered primarily in oil glazes and copper pigments applied over a much more opaque layer. In both cross-sections the nuances in the paint layers were achieved employing pigment admixtures consistent with the subject represented.

  • analysed by Andrés Sánchez Ledesma
  • analysed by Laboratorio de análisis Museo Thyssen Bornemisza

2012Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • reverse

Support

- Beech

- the reverse has bevelled edges

Paint Layers and Gilding

- the original paint edge is clearly recognizable at the top; on the sides and bottom it has been overpainted

- the treatment of the reverse - green priming painted over with black flecks, with a light coloured border - is perhaps intended as a marble imitation

[Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, revised 2012]

2007Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

- an underdrawing is not readily visible

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2013]

  • photographed by Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
  • X-radiography
  • created by Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Condition Reports

Date2012

  • stable

  • small losses, condition fair

[Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, revised 2012]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Portrait of a bearded Man', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/ES_MTB_109-1949-1/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Portrait of a bearded Man', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/ES_MTB_109-1949-1/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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