The Ill-Matched Couple: Old Man and Young Woman

The Ill-Matched Couple: Old Man and Young Woman

Title

The Ill-Matched Couple: Old Man and Young Woman

[Cat. Budapest 2003, 34]

Painting on beech wood

Medium

Painting on beech wood

[cda 2014]

An old man dressed in a fur-trimmed gown smiles at a young woman and strokes her pretty face with his right hand. She on the other hand smiles furtively at the viewer, having inserted both hands in the old man's purse.

[Herrschaft, cda 2014]

Attribution
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Cat. Budapest 2003, 34]

Production date
about 1520 - 1540

Production date

about 1520 - 1540

[cda 2014]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 86.3 x 63.5 x 0.6 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 86.3 x 63.5 x 0.6 cm

  • [cda 2014]

Signature / Dating
none
Inscriptions and Labels
on the reverse: 1 paper label

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • on the reverse: 1 paper label
Owner
Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, Budapest
Repository
Szépmuvészeti Múzeum, Budapest
Location
Budapest
CDA ID
HU_SMB_134
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/HU_SMB_134/

Provenance

  • from the Viennese Court Collection
  • 1770 Pozsony Palace, Bratislava
  • 1848 transferred by the Court Chamber Committee (Buda, Budapest) to the Hungarian National Museum
    [Cat. Budapest 2003, 34]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Cat. Budapest 2003 34
EditorIldikó Ember, István Takács
TitleMuseum of Fine Arts Budapest. Old Masters' Gallery. Summary Catalogue, Vol. 3: German, Austrian, Bohemian and British Paintings
Volume3
Place of PublicationBudapest
Year of Publication2003
Show Literature
Stewart 1978 No. 21
AuthorAlison G. Stewart
TitleUnequal Lovers. A Study of Unequal Couples in Northern art
Place of PublicationNew York
Year of Publication1978
Show Literature
Cat. Budapest 1967 167
AuthorAndor Pigler
TitleKatalog der Galerie Alter Meister I-II
Place of PublicationBudapest
Year of Publication1967
Show Literature
  • The Ill-Matched Couple: Old Man and Young Woman, about 1520 - 1540

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse
  • irr
  • uv_light

Technical studies

06. 2014Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • UV-light photography
  • uv_light
  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner

06. 2014Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared Reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid, black medium and pointed brush?

Type/Ductus:

- copied lines

- thin to broader lines

- occasional hatching-strokes

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours and describe the essential details and the facial features; occasional hatching-strokes serve the representation of volume

Deviations:

- alterations made during the painting process to clearly define form

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- not possible; could be workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder

Comments:

- the design may have been transferred from a pre-existing design?

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2014]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • photographed by Ingo Sandner
  • reverse

Support

- the panel consists of 2 beech wood planks (as far as can be inferred), aligned vertically with widths of 27 (l.) and 31 (r.) cm (recto)

- no rebate

- battens of coniferous wood were added to either side with widths of 2 (l.) und 3.5 cm (r.) (recto)

- cradle made of coniferous wood

Ground and Imprimatura

- thin white ground

Paint Layers and Gilding

- high quality execution

- thin but opaque paint application with little impasto

- coat: brocade simple but effective achieved by juxtaposing coloured and black areas of paint, in contrast the fur-trimming was acheived witha a more nuanced application of shades.

- the pearls on the bonnet and bib are applied as simple grey and white dots

- the texture of the golden cloth was achieved with very filigrain yellow lines on a ochre coloured ground

[Herrschaft, cda 2014]

Condition Reports

Date2014 -

  • a network of craquelée extends over the entire painted surface

  • some retouches, particularly along the join

  • examined by Jana Herrschaft

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Ill-Matched Couple: Old Man and Young Woman', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/HU_SMB_134/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Ill-Matched Couple: Old Man and Young Woman', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/HU_SMB_134/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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