Portrait of a young boy

Painting on laid paper

Medium

Painting on laid paper
brushes of varying width, linear and flat as well as translucent and opaque paint application, presumably in aqueous binding medium; flesh paint, pink and grey-brown (lead white, vermillion), heightened in white; iris, grey-black, overlaid with yellow ochre; pupil, black with three white reflections; mouth, red (vermillion, lead white and red lake); hair, yellow ochre, brown and grey opaque paint; robe sketched with a few grey-brown lines

[cda 2026]

A portrait study showing the head of a boy facing right with a pageboy haircut. The face and hair are modelled in shades of colour, whereas the clothing is only roughly sketched.

[cda 2026]

Attributions: Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Younger

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Elder	[Louvre online, accessed 30.10.2025]; [Hofbauer 2010, 252, no. 115]; [Exhib. Cat. Hamburg 2003, 28, no. 9]; [Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976, 696, no. 619]; [Rosenberg 1960, 28, no. 74]; [Winkler 1936, 141]
Lucas Cranach the Younger	[Girshausen 1936, 93]
Circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder	'école de CRANACH Lucas le Vieux' [Cat. Paris 1937, no. 92]
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder	[Zimmermann 1962, 9]

Dating: about 1510
about 1510 - 1515

Dating

about 1510	[Louvre online, accessed 30.10.2025]
1508 - 1509	[Hofbauer 2010, 252, no. 115]
about 1509	[Exhib. Cat. Hamburg 2003, 28, no. 9]
about 1510 - 1515	[Rosenberg 1960, 28]; [Winkler 1936, 141]
about 1515	[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976, 696, no. 619]

Dimensions: Sheet: 217-218 x 168-170 mm

Dimensions

Sheet: 217-218 x 168-170 mm
Image: 217-218 x 168-170 mm
[cda 2025]

Signature / Dating: none

Inscriptions: none

Inscriptions

Inscriptions:

none

Labels: Recto, bottom right, [Lugt no. L. 1886]
Verso, top left corner, in pencil: 'E J

Labels

later inscription, stamps, seals, labels:

Recto, bottom right, [Lugt no. L. 1886]
Verso, top left corner, in pencil: 'E J [...] 204'; upper third, centre, collector's mark:[Lugt no. L.2959]; beneath, in ink: '11,694.'; beneath, in pencil: 'NIII || 14448'; beneath, rectangular stamp: 'No. d’Ordre || 19.207'

Owner: Musée du Louvre, Paris
Repository: Musée du Louvre, Paris
Location: Paris

CDA ID: F_MdLP_19207
FR (1978) Nr.: FR-none
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/F_MdLP_19207/

Provenance

- in the collection of Everhard Jabach
- acquired for the King's Cabinet in 1671
[Louvre online, accessed 30.10.2025]

Exhibitions

Basel 1974, no. 619
Hamburg 2003, no. 9
Paris 2013, no. 7

Literature

Reference on page

Catalogue Number

Figure / Plate

Exhib. Cat. Paris 2013

007

Editor	Olivia Savatier Sjöholm, Blaise Ducos, Musée du Louvre
Title	Un Allemand à la cour de Louis XIV: de Dürer à Van Dyck, la collection nordique d'Everhard Jabach, [Louvre, Paris]
Place of Publication	Paris
Year of Publication	2013

Show Literature

Hofbauer 2010

252, 253

115

Fig. p. 253

Author	Michael Hofbauer
Title	Cranach - die Zeichnungen
Place of Publication	Berlin
Year of Publication	2010

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Exhib. Cat. Hamburg 2003

28, 168

009

Editor	Bucerius Kunst Forum, Werner Schade
Title	Lucas Cranach. Glaube, Mythologie und Moderne [Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg]
Place of Publication	Ostfildern-Ruit
Year of Publication	2003

Show Literature

Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976

696

619

Author	Dieter Koepplin, Tilman Falk
Title	Lukas Cranach. Gemälde, Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik
Volume	1, 2
Place of Publication	Basel, Stuttgart
Year of Publication	1974
Link	http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-diglit-104522

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Zimmermann 1962

Author	Heinrich Zimmermann
Title	Über einige Bildniszeichnungen Lucas Cranachs d. J.
Journal	Pantheon
Issue	20, no. 1 (January-February 1962)
Year of Publication	1962
Pages	8-12

Show Literature

Rosenberg 1960

074

pl. 74

Author	Jakob Rosenberg
Title	Die Zeichnungen Lucas Cranachs d.Ä.
Place of Publication	Berlin
Year of Publication	1960
Link	https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42777

Show Literature

Cat. Paris 1937

092

pl. XXX

Author	Louis Demonts, Frits Lugt
Title	Inventaire général des dessins des écoles du nord, Écoles allemande et suisse, 1: Première periode: maîtres nés avant 1550, A - P, [Louvre, Paris]
Place of Publication	Paris
Year of Publication	1937

Show Literature

Girshausen 1936

Author	Theo Ludwig Girshausen
Title	Die Handzeichnungen Lukas Cranachs des Älteren
Place of Publication	Frankfurt/Main
Year of Publication	1936
Link	https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23708

Show Literature

Winkler 1936 A

141

Author	Friedrich Horst Winkler
Title	Die Bilder des Wiener Filocalus
Journal	Jahrbuch der Preußischen Kunstsammlungen
Issue	57
Year of Publication	1936
Pages	141-155

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Portrait of a young boy, about 1510

Images

Technical studies

30.09.2025Scientific analysis

Instrumental material analysis

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) (Thermo Scientific - Niton XL3t GOLDD+)

The following elements were detected using XRF and in conjunction with their optical characteristics the following fillers, drawing media and colourants could be identified:

M6 Red (mouth): Ca, Pb, Fe, Hg

Ca: chalk/gypsum (?); Pb: lead white; Fe: iron oxide (?); Hg: vermillion

M7 Red (mouth): Ca, Pb, Hg, Fe

Ca: chalk/gypsum (?); Pb: lead white; Hg: vermillion; Fe: iron oxide (?)

M8 Ochre (hair): Ca, Fe, Pb

Ca: chalk/gypsum (?); Fe: iron oxide/ochre (?); Pb: lead white

M9 Paper: Ca, Fe, (Pb)

Ca: chalk/gypsum (?); Fe: iron oxide (?); Pb: lead white

M10 Green (eye): Ca, Pb, Fe, Hg

Ca: chalk/gypsum (?); Pb: lead white; Fe: iron oxide / ochre (?); Hg: vermillion

M11 White (eye): Ca, Pb, Fe, (Hg)

Ca: chalk / gypsum (?); Pb: lead white, Fe: iron oxide / ochre (?)

M12 Pink (cheek): Ca, Pb, Fe, Hg

Ca: chalk/gypsum (?); Pb: lead white; Fe: iron oxide/ochre (?); Hg: vermillion

M13 Cardboard: Ca, Fe

Ca: chalk/gypsum (?); Fe: iron oxide/ochre (?)

[Gunnar Heydenreich, Diana Blumenroth, unpublished analysis results, 30.09.2025]

examined by Gunnar Heydenreich
examined by Diana Blumenroth

2025Technical Examination

Watermark

Watermark: present (only visible in raking light)

[cda 2025]

2025Technical Examination

Examination of paper / structural analysis

Support

Paper type: laid

Chain line, orientation to image: vertical

Chain lines (intervals): 30;30;30;31

Laid lines (density): 13

Mould side: recto

[cda 2025]

Process, Medium

brushes of varying width, linear and flat as well as translucent and opaque paint application, presumably in aqueous binding medium; flesh paint, pink and grey-brown (lead white, vermillion, XRF), heightened in white; iris, grey-black, overlaid with yellow ochre; pupil, black with three white reflections; mouth, red (vermillion, lead white (XRF) and red lake); hair, yellow ochre (iron oxide, XRF), brown and grey opaque paint; robe sketched with a few grey-brown lines, on laid paper

[Thomas Klinke, Gunnar Heydenreich, cda 2026]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'Portrait of a young boy', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/F_MdLP_19207/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'Portrait of a young boy', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/F_MdLP_19207/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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