The Mocking of Christ

The Mocking of Christ

Title

The Mocking of Christ

[cda 2017]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]

The wooden panel depicts the Mocking of Christ set in an interior. Christ, seated and bound, is encircled by a throng of ruffians, who taunt and torment him in various ways. Another version of this representation exists in the collection in Prague castle [1] and a very similar version was

The wooden panel depicts the Mocking of Christ set in an interior. Christ, seated and bound, is encircled by a throng of ruffians, who taunt and torment him in various ways. Another version of this representation exists in the collection in Prague castle [1] and a very similar version was auctioned in 2013 at Lempertz in Cologne.[2]

[1] CZ_OPH_HS264, wood, 42 x 28.5 cm

[2] Lempertz auction 1008, 20.03.2013, Lot 5: wood, 41 x 27 cm, Lucas Cranach the Elder, follower, about 1540/50.

[Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop

[Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]

Production date
about 1515 - 1520

Production date

about 1515 - 1520

[Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 36 x 28.2 x 1.1 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 36 x 28.2 x 1.1 cm

  • [Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]

Signature / Dating

The artist's insignia is at the bottom edge: a serpent with elevated wings and facing to the left; in yellow paint

Signature / Dating

  • The artist's insignia is at the bottom edge: a serpent with elevated wings and facing to the left; in yellow paint

  • [Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]

Inscriptions and Labels

None
[Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015] Reverse of the panel: - a seal imprint in red wax showing the …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

  • None

  • [Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of the panel: - a seal imprint in red wax showing the coat of arms of Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden-Baden (1655- 1707) and Franziska Sibylla Augusta of Sachsen-Lauenburg[1]

  • [1]Information generously provided by Michel Pastoureau

  • [Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]

Owner
Repository
Private Collection
CDA ID
PRIVATE_NONE-P176
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P176/

Provenance

  • Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden-Baden (1655-1707) and Franziska Sibylla Augusta of Sachsen-Lauenburg (see seal imprint on the verso)
  • Private collection, France
    [Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]
  • sold by Christie's, London, 5.07.2018, sale 14772, lot 13
    [Christie's online database, accessed 20.01.2022]

Research History / Discussion

Discussion and Evaluation

The support is a wooden panel that can be classified as a standard format ‚B’.[1] Limewood panels of this size were frequently employed in the Cranach workshop. The original dimensions of the panel probably correspond with those of the panels in Prague and Cologne (Lempertz).

Underdrawing executed with a stylus (dark chalk) on paintings by Lucas Cranach and the workshop from before 1530 are rarely found and are more common later. From the 1510s for example the painting of ‘The Virgin and Child‘ (1518, DE_WRMK_WRM3207) exhibits a similar tentative underdrawing with a stylus (dark chalk) and isolated indications of contours.

The identified pigments were employed in European panel paintings before 1750 and were also frequently used in the Cranach workshop.[2]

The technique for the paint application corresponds with the usual practice in the Cranach workshop. Shapes and design elements can be found on other Wittenberg workshop productions. Although the original quality of the execution is compromised in some areas due to damage the eyes, hair and robes among others correspond in their execution and quality to the works of Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop (see e. g. St Jerome, St Leopold, 1515, Vienna). The execution of this painting appears to be of considerably higher quality than the versions in Prague and Cologne (Lempertz).

The insignia, which was executed employing lead-tin-yellow, corresponds with the type found on other works by Lucas Cranach the Elder. No signature is documented on the panels in Prague and Cologne (Lempertz).

In my opinion the present painting is a work by Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop from about 1515 – 1520. Previous damage inflicted on the painting and discoloured retouches currently compromise its aesthetic appearance.

[1] see Heydenreich, G., Lucas Cranach the Elder, Painting materials, techniques and workshop practice, Amsterdam 2007, p. 43.

[2] Heydenreich 2007

[Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]

  • The Mocking of Christ, about 1515 - 1520

Images

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

Technical studies

30.08.2015Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • X-radiography
  • UV-light photograph
  • Other imaging techniques
  • Stereomicroscopy

Support

The following methods of examination were employed:

Stereomicroscopy, Infrared reflectography (Osiris, 900-1700nm), UV- light examination, X-radiography (Seifert ERESCO 150KV/0,5mA / Examion CR 3X-pro), XRF-analysis (Niton XLt)

The wooden panel consists of a single plank (36 x 28.2 x 1.1 cm, probably lime wood). The grain runs vertically. A large knot has been retained in the wood and was covered on the reverse with fibrous material (later removed). On the right, left and bottom edges there is a rebate c. 1 cm in width on the reverse. The reverse has been carefully smoothed and exhibits a black coating, which is probably original. The upper edge of the panel was trimmed at a later dated.

Ground and Imprimatura

There is an application of white ground on the recto of the panel. A barbe is present along the left, right and bottom edges. An incised line runs parallel to the left edge of the panel.

Underdrawing

Infrared reflectography reveals some thin dark lines executed with stylus to roughly fix the contours and shows sparse elaboration of detail. Slight deviations are visible for example in the head of the henchman on the left; here the nose is considerably higher up than in the final painted version.

Paint Layers and Gilding

XRF-analysis was employed to detect the elements present in the paint layers and by comparison with their optical characteristics the following pigments were identified: lead white, lead-tin-yellow, iron oxide, vermilion, copper green and azurite.

The verification of the presence of calcium suggests the use of calcium carbonate (chalk) in the ground or/ and as a fill material or substrate.

In addition there were numerous measuring points where zinc was detected. Here zinc white was probably employed for retouching.

The flesh tones were modulated employing pink flesh paint and brown shadow tones. While some faces and hands appear skillfully executed others, like the hands of the ruffian at the left, seem rather roughly painted. In numerous faces the confidently/masterfully drawn details of eyelashes and eyebrows have survived. In other areas the detailed drawing appears to have been less distinct or been lost as the result of later intervention. The paint for many of the robes, e. g. Christ’s (azurite, lead white) and the tormenter at the front left edge of the image, has been applied employing both a dabbing technique and brushed strokes. Each shape was executed with a clearly designated outline and little alternating overlapping. No considerable compositional changes are visible.

The artist's insignia displaying a serpent with elevated wings is located at the bottom edge of the image. XRF-analysis detected lead-tin-yellow. The paint has not run into the cracquelée, meaning it was most probably applied to the image when it was created.

[Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]

08. 2015Technical examination / Scientific analysis

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

08. 2015Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tool/Material:

- design in dark chalk

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing

- thin, narrow line

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; lines delineate the main contours and describe essential details and facial features; no representation of volume with hatching strokes

Deviations:

- forms were corrected during the painting process; small changes (e. g. the head of the rogue at the top left where the nose was shifted further down, the hand of the rogue at the lower right, etc.)

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Sandner, Smith-Contini, Heydenreich, cda 2018]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich

08. 2015Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • X-radiography
  • x_radiograph
  • created by Gunnar Heydenreich

Condition Reports

Date30.08.2015

Condition

The panel is in a visibly damaged state. The top edge of the panel was cropped at a later stage by c. 5-6 cm. The round window and the flames of the torches retained on the versions in Prague and Cologne (Lempertz) were probably removed during this intervention. The original height of the panel probably corresponded with that of both the panels in Prague and Cologne (c. 41-42 cm.)

The support exhibits extensive inactive woodworm damage. The x-radiograph shows numerous worm channels running throughout the entire panel. In the area of Christ's head, including the hand with the recorder, there is a large and coarsely retouched loss in the paint layer, which may be related to the instability of the wooden support.

In addition the painted surface is abraded in many places, noticeably in the heads, particularly that of Christ as well as the hands and the knee of the ruffian at the front edge. The green tones in particular appear to have discoloured (brown) with age. The yellowed varnish, abrasion, discoloured retouches as well as the partial thinning of the varnish contribute to the overall patchy and disfigured appearance of the painting. In addition to the serpent insignia there is also a monogram 'LC'. However examination under the stereomicroscope and in UV light showed clearly that this monogram is without doubt a later addition.

[Heydenreich, examination report, 30.08.2015]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Mocking of Christ', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P176/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Mocking of Christ', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P176/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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