Portrait of a man with a black beard

Portrait of a man with a black beard

Painting on laid paper

Medium

Painting on laid paper
prepared with a ground;
brushes of varying width, linear and flat, opaque paint application, presumably oil-based binding medium; flesh tones, pink and grey-brown (lead white, vermillion) modelled with subtile nuances

[cda 2026]

A portrait study showing the head of a man with short hair and a black beard, facing to the right. The face and hair are modelled in shades of colour, whereas the neck and collar 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, 266, no. 122]; [Rosenberg 1960, 32, no. 88]; [Girshausen 1936, 82, no. 93]

Lucas Cranach the Younger

[Zimmermann 1962, 11]

Dating
about 1530 - 1540
after 1550

Dating

about 1530 - 1540

[Rosenberg 1960, 32, no. 88]; [Girshausen 1936, 82, no. 93]

after 1550

[Zimmermann 1962, 11]

Dimensions
Sheet: 228-229 x 175 mm

Dimensions

  • Sheet: 228-229 x 175 mm

  • Image: 214-219 x 148 mm

  • [cda 2025]

Signature / Dating

none

Inscriptions

none

Inscriptions

Inscriptions:

  • none

Owner
Musée du Louvre, Paris
Repository
Musée du Louvre, Paris
Location
Paris
CDA ID
F_MdLP_RF-4652
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/F_MdLP_RF-4652/

Provenance

- François Flameng, sale 26–27 May 1919, no. 12
- acquired by the Louvre at this sale for 13,000 francs.
[Louvre online, accessed 30.10.2025]

Exhibitions

Paris 1907, no. 426
Berlin 1937, no. 214

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Hofbauer 2010 266, 267 122 Fig. p. 267
AuthorMichael Hofbauer
TitleCranach - die Zeichnungen
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication2010
Show Literature
Zimmermann 1962 11, 12
AuthorHeinrich Zimmermann
TitleÜber einige Bildniszeichnungen Lucas Cranachs d. J.
JournalPantheon
Issue20, no. 1 (January-February 1962)
Year of Publication1962
Pages8-12
Show Literature
Rosenberg 1960 32 088 pl. 88
AuthorJakob Rosenberg
TitleDie Zeichnungen Lucas Cranachs d.Ä.
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1960
Link https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42777
Show Literature
Cat. Paris 1937 17 086 pl. XXVIII
AuthorLouis Demonts, Frits Lugt
TitleInventaire général des dessins des écoles du nord, Écoles allemande et suisse, 1: Première periode: maîtres nés avant 1550, A - P, [Louvre, Paris]
Place of PublicationParis
Year of Publication1937
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Berlin 1937 214
EditorStaatliche Museen, Berlin
TitleLucas Cranach d. Ä. und Lucas Cranach d. J. Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Graphik
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1937
Show Literature
Girshausen 1936 82 093
AuthorTheo Ludwig Girshausen
TitleDie Handzeichnungen Lukas Cranachs des Älteren
Place of PublicationFrankfurt/Main
Year of Publication1936
Link https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23708
Show Literature
Cat. Paris 1929 19
AuthorLouis Réau
EditorJean Guiffrey
TitleLa peinture au Musée du Louvre. [5]. École allemande
Place of PublicationParis
Year of Publication1929
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Paris 1907 183 426
EditorHenry Camille Marcel, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris
TitleExposition de portraits peints et dessinés du XIIIe au XVIIe siècle [Paris]
Place of PublicationParis
Year of Publication1907
Link https://archive.org/details/expositdeportai00bibl/page/n13/mode/2up
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

According to Girahausen 'The sheet is probably from the series of portrait drawings held by the Museum in Reims, as several pieces were lost during the years of the French Revolution.'

[Girshausen 1936, 82, no. 93] (translated from German, cda 2025)

See also [Exhib. Cat. Paris 1907, 183, no. 426]

  • Portrait of a man with a black beard, about 1530 - 1540

Images

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License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

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:

M1 Red (mouth): Pb, Ba, Hg, Ca, Fe

Pb: lead white; Ba: barium sulphate (mounting board); Hg: vermillion; Ca: chalk/gypsum (?); Fe: iron oxide/ochre (?)

M2 White (eye): Pb, Ba, Ca, Fe

Pb: lead white; Ba: barium sulphate (mounting board); Ca: chalk/gypsum (?); Fe: iron oxide/ochre (?)

M3 Brown (eye): Pb, Fe, Ba, Ca, Hg

Pb: lead white; Fe: iron oxide/ochre (?); Ba: barium sulphate (mounting board); Ca: chalk/gypsum (?); Hg: vermillion

M4 Pink (forehead): Pb, Ba, Hg, Ca, Fe

Pb: lead white; Ba: barium sulphate (mounting board); Hg: vermilion; Ca: chalk/gypsum (?); Fe: iron oxide/ochre (?)

M5 Brown (background): Pb, Ca, Ba, Fe

Pb: lead white/red lead (?); Ca: chalk / gypsum (?); Ba: barium sulphate (mounting board); Fe: iron oxide / ochre (?)

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

  • examined by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • examined by Diana Blumenroth

2025 - Technical Examination

  • Watermark

Watermark: present

Watermark, motif: shield with crosed swords

Watermark, dimensions: 30 x 24 mm

[cda 2025]

2025 - Technical Examination

  • Examination of paper / structural analysis

Support

Paper type: laid

Chain line, orientation to image: -

Chain lines (intervals): not verifiable

Laid lines (density): not verifiable

Mould side: not verifiable

[cda 2025]

Process, Medium

brushes of varying width, linear and flat, opaque paint application, presumably in a oil-based binding medium; flesh tones, pink and grey-brown (lead white, vermillion XRF) modelled with subtle nuances, on laid paper, prepared with a light pink ground (lead white, iron oxide, XRF)

[Thomas Klinke, Gunnar Heydenreich, cda 2026]

Condition Reports

Date2025 -

laminated onto or inserted into a sheet of parchment (?), this was subsequently attached to a wooden board

[cda 2025]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Portrait of a man with a black beard', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/F_MdLP_RF-4652/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Portrait of a man with a black beard', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/F_MdLP_RF-4652/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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