The Annunciation

The Annunciation

Title

The Annunciation

[cda 2018]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[laminated onto a second wooden panel; Lempertz online database, accessed 17.02.2022]

Painting on wood

[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 538, no. 391]

The painting depicts the Virgin kneeling on a prayer stool at the right, hovering above her is the Holy Ghost shown in the form of a dove. The archangel Gabriel enters the room from the left with his right hand raised in blessing. A vase of lilies is positioned between

The painting depicts the Virgin kneeling on a prayer stool at the right, hovering above her is the Holy Ghost shown in the form of a dove. The archangel Gabriel enters the room from the left with his right hand raised in blessing. A vase of lilies is positioned between the figures.

Attributions
Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop

[Heydenreich, Cologne, 5.4.2021, Lempertz online database, accessed 17.02.2022]

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 538, no. 391]

Lucas Cranach der Ältere

[Cat. Dortmund 1967, no. 4] [Jakob Rosenberg, Ann Arbor/Michigan, 13.1.1961, Max J. Friedländer, Berlin, 2.9.1932, Lempertz online database, accessed 17.02.2022]

Production dates
about 1520
about 1518

Production dates

about 1520

[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 538, no. 391]

about 1518

[Cat. Dortmund 1967, no. 4]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 22.5 x 26 cm

Dimensions

Signature / Dating

None

Inscriptions and Labels

On the reverse, several labels:
'Lempertz 406249'; 'C'; 'LUCAS CRANACH the elder, workshop […] The Annunciation; Tempera on …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • On the reverse, several labels:

  • 'Lempertz 406249'; 'C'; 'LUCAS CRANACH the elder, workshop […] The Annunciation; Tempera on panel, transferred to a new support 22,5 x 26 cm […] No. 11' [further label:] 'Catalogue XX / 1975-1976 – CRAMER . 38, JAVASTRAAT . THE HAGUE . TEL.: [070]630758*'

Owner
Private Collection
Repository
Private Collection
CDA ID
PRIVATE_NONE-P228
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P228/

Provenance

  • Galerie van Diemen & Co., Berlin, before 1932
  • Auction Paul Cassirer, Berlin, 20.10.1932, lot 48 (as Cranach the Elder)
  • Katzenelnbogen collection
  • Galerie Schaeffer, New York, 1961
  • Dr. H. Becker collection, Dortmund, 1974 [1]
  • since then the property of a German family
  • sold at Lempertz, Cologne, 05.06.2021, auction 1175, lot 2012
    [1] see also [Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 538, no. 391]
  • sold at Lempertz, Cologne, 05.06.2021, auction 1175, lot 2012
    [Lempertz online database, accessed 17.02.2022]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976 538 391 Fig. 285
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
Exhib. Cat. Bielefeld 1972 No. 4
EditorHans Georg Gmelin
TitleLukas Cranach der Ältere 1472-1553. Grafik[Bielefeld, Kunsthalle, 23. Januar bis 26. März 1972; Düsseldorf, Kunstmuseum, 8. April bis 17. Mai 1972; Köln, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, 26. Mai bis 16. Juli 1972]
Place of PublicationBielefeld
Year of Publication1972
Show Literature
Cat. Dortmund 1967 004
AuthorRolf Fritz
TitleSammlung Becker. Teil 1: Gemälde alter Meister
Place of PublicationDortmund
Year of Publication1967
Show Literature
Fritz 1967 No. 4
AuthorRolf Fritz
TitleSammlung Becker. Gemälde alter Meister
Place of PublicationDortmund
Year of Publication1967
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

The assumption that this painting and the Adoration of the Shepherds [FR103B] are part of the same ensemble was confirmed when they were displayed together in the exhibition.

[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 538, no. 391]

Discussion of the examination results

The painter of this panel was familiar with the materials and techniques used in the Cranach workshop. The underdrawing of is of high quality and is similar to other workings attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder. The arrangment of the fold are only slightly developed i the underdrawing. It is the painter who executes the rather uniform and in part recurring folds in the Virgin's cloak and dress. The hands are more finely detailed in the underdrawing than in the final painted version.

The high-quality of the underdrawing and the visible discrepancy between the underdrawing and the final painted version, suggests that Lucas Cranach the Elder drew the composition on the ground himself and assigned the task of painting it to a collaborator. On the basis of the examination results this well-preserved work can be attributed to 'Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop', c. 1516 - 1520.

[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 05.04.2021]

  • The Annunciation, about 1520

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse
  • irr
  • x_radiograph
  • detail
  • detail
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Technical studies

05.04.2021Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • X-radiography
  • Instrumental material analysis
  • Stereomicroscopy

Support

The support consists of s single board (c. 1cm thick) with vertically aligned grain. There is a small damage in the left edge of the panel that may have been covered with single fibres. The later addition of wooden strips to all four sides of the original panel precuded a more precise identification of the wood species.

Ground and Imprimatura

The panel has a white ground. Remnants of a barb have been preserved along the top and left edges.

Underdrawing

An underdrawing in a greyish-black liquid medium using a brush and pen delineates the composition. Contours and essential details are outlined with confident lines. cnsidering the scale of the work the faces and hands appear to have been executed with great skill. There are several minor deviations in the final painted version: the dove and the messenger's staff have been reduced slightly in size, the hands and folds modified and decorative elements on the canopy omitted.

Paint Layers and Gilding

The following elements were detected using XRF and the following pigments were identified on the basis of their optical characteristics:

Red / robe: Pb, Ca, Hg, Fe, Cu (Cr?)

Pb: lead white/ red lead; Ca: chalk/ gypsum?; Hg: vermilion; Fe: iron oxide/ ochre; Cu: copper blue/ green; Cr?: retouching?

Green / cloak: Cu, Ca, Pb, Sn, Sr, Fe (Hg)

Cu: Copper green; Ca: Chalk/ gypsum?; Pb: lead white; Pb/ Sn: lead-tin yellow; Fe: iron oxide/ ochre; Hg: vermilion; Sr?

Blue / cloak: Cu, Pb, Ca, Fe, (Sr)

Cu: copper blue; Ca: chalk/ gypsum?; Pb: lead white; Fe: iron oxide/ ochre; Sr?

White / dove: Pb, Ca, (Fe)

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

Yellow / rod: Pb, Hg, Sn, Ca, Fe (Mn)

Pb: white lead; Hg: vermilion; Pb/ Sn: lead tin yellow; Fe/ Mn: iron oxide/ ochre; Ca: chalk/ gypsum?

Orange / angel: Pb, Fe, Hg, Sn, (Cu)

Pb: lead white; Fe: iron oxide/ ochre; Hg: vermilion; Pb/ Sn: lead tin yellow; Ca: chalk/ gypsum?; Cu: copper green/ blue

Red glaze / dress: Ca, Pb, Hg, Fe, Sr, (Cu, Zn, Mn)

Ca: chalk/ gypsum?; Pb: white lead; Fe/ Mn: iron oxide/ ochre; Hg: vermilion; Cu: copper green/ blue; Zn? substrate? retouching?

To summarise the following pigments were identified in the paint layer:

Lead white, lead-tin yellow, vermilion, copper-containing green, copper-containing blue and iron oxide/ochre.

The paint was applied in several layers using brushes. In the canopy the pattern was scratched into the red glaze using a sgraffito technique. The finely painted lines representing the joints in the masonry were first incised. No significant changes in the painting process are visible in the x-radiograph.

[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 05.04.2021]

Condition Reports

Date05.04.2021

The panel is stable and in relatively good condition.

Support:

  • the panel was trimmed on all sides, thinned, and glued to a new board.

  • wooden strips have been nailed to all four sides.

  • there are two old horizontal splits

Paint layer:

  • pronounce craquelure

  • the red glaze and the areas of green paint are well preserved in comparison with other paintings.

[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 05.04.2021]

  • examined by Gunnar Heydenreich
  • examined by Diana Blumenroth

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Annunciation', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P228/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Annunciation', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P228/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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