Portrait of the Elector Frederick III 'The Wise' of Saxony (1463-1525)

Portrait of the saxon Elector Friedrich III (1463-1525) as a half-length figure against a blue background.

[cda 2019]

This is one of a number of portraits painted by Cranach of his most important early patron. The earliest dated example of this particular type is that of 1522 formerly in Gotha, Schlossmuseum, [PRIVATE_NONE-P223], which shows the Elector before his beard turned grey. The present work dates from 1525, the year of the Elector's death, or shortly thereafter. It is one of approximately ten posthumous autograph portraits of the Elector from this period. Another such, signed and dated 1525, is [PRIVATE_NONE-P240]. The demand for repetitions of this particular portrait type persisted well into the 1530s when they were often combined with portraits of Johann Frederick the Magnanimous and Johann the Steadfast. These images were often accompanied by laudatory verses glued to the panels as here.

[Sotheby's online database; http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2006/old-master-paintings-l06030/lot.22.html?locale=en; accessed 21-03-2019]