The Virgin and Child with Angels

The Virgin and Child with Angels

Title

The Virgin and Child with Angels

[cda 2020]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 536, no. 388]

The Virgin is shown seated on a stone block in the foreground on the right side of the image. She holds the infant Christ on her lap, while he eats strawberries from a plant offered to him by a cherub. A further three cherubs are busy collecting berries in the

The Virgin is shown seated on a stone block in the foreground on the right side of the image. She holds the infant Christ on her lap, while he eats strawberries from a plant offered to him by a cherub. A further three cherubs are busy collecting berries in the foreground on the left. The scene is set in a mountainous landscape with both a fortress and a town visible in the far distance. The branches of a tree, which is positioned slightly off centre, help define the middle axis. Another four cherubs are shown hold up a dark curtain that serves as a backdrop for the figurative group.

[cda 2020]

Attributions
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

or Lucas Cranach the Younger? [Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 2022]

Lucas Cranach the Elder

or the Younger?
[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 536, no. 388]

Lucas Cranach the Younger

or workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder [Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 2022]
[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, no. 391D]
or Cranach the Elder? [Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 536, no. 388]
[Kuhn 1936, 41, no. 116]

Production dates
about 1540 - 1550
about 1540

Production dates

about 1540 - 1550

[Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 2022]

about 1540

[Kuhn 1936, no. 116]

1540 - 1555

[Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 536, no. 388]

after 1537

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, no. 391D]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 74.5 x 49.5 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 74.5 x 49.5 cm

  • [Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974, 536, no. 388]

  • 74.5 x 49.5 x 1.2 cm

  • [Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 2022]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the bottom right, on the stone block: winged serpent with dropped wings, facing left

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia at the bottom right, on the stone block: winged serpent with dropped wings, facing left

Inscriptions and Labels

Reverse of the frame: - top centre: remnants of a label: 'Heinri […] / Köln-Marienburg'

  • top right corner: remnants …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of the frame: - top centre: remnants of a label: 'Heinri […] / Köln-Marienburg'

    • top right corner: remnants of a (removed) label
    • left beneath the hook, in black: illegible handwriting
    • beneath this, also in black: '33/437'
    • right, in black: 'l x l'

  • [Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 2022]

Owner
Private Collection
Repository
Private Collection
CDA ID
PRIVATE_NONE-P412
FR (1978) Nr.
FR391D
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P412/

Provenance

  • [?] Neuerburg Collection, Cologne
    [Typed beneath a b/w photograph, Koepplin Archive]

  • 1930, A. S. Drey, Munich (art market)
    [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, no. 391D]

  • 1929 E.&A. Silbermann (art dealer), Vienna

  • 1929 -30.03.1935 A. S. Drey (art dealer), Munich, acquired from E.&A. Silbermann, Vienna

  • 30.03.1935 - min. 1945 Heinrich Neuerburg (1880-1956), Cologne, acquired from A. S. Drey, Munich

  • c. 1956 - max. 1986, prob. Walter Neuerburg (1912-1986), Siegburg, prob. acquired as part of an inheritance from his father Heinrich Neuerburg

  • 1980s - 03.02.2021 private collection, southern Germany (inheritance)

  • 03.02.2021- Spring 2021, acquired by private owner together with the art dealer Peter Mühlbauer

  • since Spring 2021 on loan to the Diözesanmuseum Freising
    [Zechel, Provenienzbericht für das Diozösanmuseum Freising zum Werk von Lucas Cranach d. Ä., Maria mit Kind und Engeln im Erdbeerfeld, 2021]

Exhibitions

Basel 1974, no. 388

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 391D
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976 533, 536 388 Fig. 284
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
Kuhn 1936 41 116
AuthorCharles L. Kuhn
TitleA Catalogue of German Paintings of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in American Collections
Place of PublicationCambridge Mass.
Year of Publication1936
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 88 315d
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1932
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

D. Koepplin saw the painting on the 27.09.1971 and made the following observations: dark red cloak with orange lining; dark blue dress; the sky is very pale greyish blue/pink/blue; the angels' wings are yellowish a nd light bluish; black curtain; very good quality, probably Cranach the Younger, but could be the father

[Handwritten by D. Koepplin on the reverse of a b/w photograph, 27.09.1971; Koepplin Archive]

Discussion of the examination results

The painter of this panel was familiar with both the formal language and the materials and techniques used in the Cranach workshop. The characteristics of the support correspond to other works from the Wittenberg workshop. Underdrawing using red and black drawing media can also be found in paintings from the 1540s. The stippled technique used for the blue paint corresponds to the usual practice and similar ageing crack patterns are found on other works from this period produced in the Wittenberg workshop.

Considering the scale of the figures the quality of the painting is good in comparison with other depictions of the Virgin from around 1540 - 1550. [...]

This painting is a very well-preserved and high-quality work by a workshop employee of Lucas Cranach the Elder from around 1540-50. It differs from the best works by Lucas Cranach the Elder, in the execution of details such as the eyes, hair, landscape and the insignia. In the design of the landscape there are also differences to works that are unanimously attributed to Lucas Cranach the Younger.

However, it is possible that it was executed by Lucas Cranach the Younger, who worked in his father's workshop in the 1540s. The insignia is similar in several details to those found on other works attributed to Lucas Cranach the Younger.

[Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 2022]

  • The Virgin and Child with Angels, about 1540 - 1550

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • irr
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail
  • detail

Technical studies

19.09.2022Technical examination / Scientific analysis

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

Support

A wooden panel consisting of four boards (top from left approx. 3.5 / 28.4 / 8.5 / 21 cm) with the grain running vertically. In raking light a wooden insert is visible at the lower right edge light. It was probably used to fill a damage. The irregular craquelure in the ground and paint layer suggests that the panel was covered with fibrous material on the front before the ground was applied.

The wood species could not be determined as the original panel had been thined. However it appears to be a very fine-pored hardwood, possibly limewood.

Ground and Imprimatura

The ground is white and the edges have been preserved on all four sides. There is a barbe at the top and the bottom c. 1 cm from the edge of the panel, suggesting the panel was fitted in a frame when the ground was applied.

Underdrawing

The composition was first drawn using dry drawing media. In several areas microscopic red lines were observed under the paint layer (probably red chalk), but these cannot be visualised in the infrared reflectogram. A black dry drawing medium (black chalk?) was used to fix the outlines of the individual figures. These lines are clearly visible on the heads of the angels in the infrared reflectogram. In a further step, details such as faces and folds were described using a liquid black medium and a brush. No significant changes to the composition were made at this stage.

Paint Layers and Gilding

The following elements were detected using XRF and in conjunction with the optical characteristics the following pigments were identified:

Yellow, red / Lining: Ca, Pb, Fe, Hg, Sn, Sr (Cu, As?)

Ca: chalk/ gypsum?; Pb: lead white/ red lead?; Fe: iron oxide/ ochre?; Hg: vermilion; Pb/ Sn: lead tin yellow; Cu: siccative?; As: wood preservative?, orpiment?

Red, yellow, blue / Angel's wings: Cu, Ca, Pb, Co, Fe, Sr, (As?)

Cu: azurite; Ca: chalk/gypsum?; Pb: white lead; Co: smalt?; Fe: iron oxide/ochre?; As: wood preservative?, auripigment?

Yellow, blue / Border of robe: Cu, Pb, Ca, Co, As, Fe, Sn, (Sr)

Cu: azurite; Pb: white lead; Ca: chalk/gypsum?; Co: smalt?; Fe: iron oxide/ochre?; Pb, Sn: lead-tin yellow; As: wood preservative?, orpiment?, Schweinfurt green?

The following pigments were identified in the paint layer: lead white, lead-tin yellow, vermilion, azurite, smalt and iron oxide/ochre.

[Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 2022]

  • examined by Gunnar Heydenreich

Condition Reports

Date19.09.2022

The panel is stable and in good condition.

Support:

The panel was thinned to 3 mm, glued to an approx. 0.9 cm thick softwood panel and cradled.The bonding between the original picture support and the softwood panel is stable. There is an old vertical crack to the right of the centre of the painting.

Paint layers:

Paint loss along the old crack; slightly abraded in some areas with a pronounced craquelure. The red glazes and the green areas of the painting are well preserved in comparison with other paintings.

[Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 08.2022]

  • examined by Gunnar Heydenreich

Date27.09.1971

  • 'parkettiert. Ausgezeichnet erhalten.' (cradled and in execellent condition)

[Handwritten observation, 27.09.1971, reverse of a b/w photograph; Koepplin Archive]

Conservation History

Date2021

Conservation treatment by H. G. Hovhannisjan

The paint layers were partially consolidated, the was varnish reduced, some retouching were redone and a new varnish was applied.

[Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 08.2022]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'The Virgin and Child with Angels', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P412/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'The Virgin and Child with Angels', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P412/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

Help us to improve the Cranach Digital Archive.

Please contact us, if you have noticed a mistake.