St Anne in front of a landscape

Title

[cda 2019]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[unpublished examination report G. Heydenreich, 2019]

This fragment of a painting shows St Anne in front of a mountainous landscape. She faces left and is holding an open book in both hands.

Attributions: Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder	(?) [unpublished examination report G. Heydenreich, 2019]
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder	[Lempertz online database: https://www.lempertz.com/de/kataloge/lot/1132-1/1210-lucas-cranach-d-ae-werkstatt.html; accessed 24.09.2019]

Production date: about 1535 - 1540

Production date

about 1535 - 1540

[unpublished examination report G. Heydenreich, 2019]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 46.4 × 36.7 cm (fragment)

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 46.4 × 36.7 cm (fragment)
[unpublished examination report G. Heydenreich, 2019]

Signature / Dating: None

Inscriptions and Labels: In the halo: 'S. ANNA'
[cda 2019]

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

In the halo: 'S. ANNA'
[cda 2019]

Owner: Private Collection
Repository: Private Collection

CDA ID: PRIVATE_NONE-P296
FR (1978) Nr.: FR-none
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P296/

Provenance

since decades in a private collection, West Germany
18.05.2019 auctioned at Lempertz, Cologne, Sale 1132, lot 1210
[Lempertz online database: https://www.lempertz.com/de/kataloge/lot/1132-1/1210-lucas-cranach-d-ae-werkstatt.html; accessed 24.09.2019]

Research History / Discussion

This panel is a fragment and was probably once a wing panel with a full-length representation of St Anne (compare with the Heinrichaltar, 1537, in Merseburg and the winged altarpiece depicting St Paul in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Magdeburg). The main features of the support and the paint layer structure correspond with standard practice in Cranach’s Wittenberg workshop.

[unpublished examination report, G. Heydenreich, 2019]

St Anne in front of a landscape, about 1535 - 1540

Images

Technical studies

03. 2019Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Infrared reflectography

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Material:

- black, fluid medium and brush

Type/Ductus:

- freehand and relatively economical underdrawing; thin lines

Function:

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

Deviations:

- only minor corrections were made to forms during the painting process; no significant changes

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- may have been created in Lucas Cranach the Elder’s workshop

Comments:

- after a pre-existing design

[Sandner, Smith-Contini, Heydenreich, cda 2020]

photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich
photographed by Ingo Sandner

03. 2019Technical examination / Scientific analysis

X-radiography

created by Gunnar Heydenreich

03. 2019Technical examination / Scientific analysis

UV-light photography

photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich

2019Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Stereomicroscopy
Infrared reflectography
X-radiography
UV-light photography
Instrumental material analysis

Support

The wooden panel is c. 0.3 - 0.7 cm thick and consists of two or three hardwood planks.The panel has been trimmed on all four sides.

The x-radiograph shows knots and a fiberous material attached to sections of the recto; the fibers are irregular and do not necessarily cover the joints.

Ground and Imprimatura

The ground is white. There is no barbe.

Underdrawing

The contours and essential details were executed economically employing a black fluid medium and a brush (see infrared reflectogram). No changes were made to the composition during the painting process.

Paint Layers and Gilding

Using XRF analysis the following elements were detected in the paint layers and after comparing the optical characteristics the following pigments were identified: lead white, a blue pigment containing copper (azurite), vermilion, iron oxide/ocher, lead tin yellow

The foliage exhibits a black underpaint.

[unpublished examination report, G. Heydenreich, 2019]

Condition Reports

Date2019

The panel is damaged, but in a stable condition. It has been trimmed on all four sides and thinned on the reverse. Subsequently the panel was attached to a coniferous wood panel and cradled on the reverse (3 vertical and 4 horizontal members).

The panel is scuffed along the edges and the corners are bashed. There are several vertical splits. The paint layers exhibit a pronounced cracquellée, both caused and influenced to some extent by the fibre application. Sections of the paint are abraded. Along the splits and in many other areas there are retouches and in parts extensive overpaint.

[unpublished examination report, G. Heydenreich, 2019]

examined by Gunnar Heydenreich
examined by Diana Blumenroth

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'St Anne in front of a landscape', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P296/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'St Anne in front of a landscape', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P296/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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