Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony

Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony

Title

Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony

[cda 2020]

Painting on wood (beech?)

Medium

Painting on wood (beech?)

[Unpublished examination report, I. Sandner, 06.11.2002; Koepplin Archive]

The sitter is depicted as a half-length figure in three quarter profile against a dark green curtain and looking to her right. Her elaborate dress of gold brocade with slit sleeves and a high collar bears a motto around the neckline, embroidered with pearls. She wears a bonnet with her

The sitter is depicted as a half-length figure in three quarter profile against a dark green curtain and looking to her right. Her elaborate dress of gold brocade with slit sleeves and a high collar bears a motto around the neckline, embroidered with pearls. She wears a bonnet with her monogram ‘M’ and a plaited bridal wreath on her head, both are decorated with pearls. Three large chains, one with a pendant shaped like a wheel, a precious stone and a pearl drop, as well as two rings on her right hand complete her rich attire.

[cda 2020]

Attributions
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Dorotheum online database, accessed 07.09.2020]
[Unpublished examination report, I. Sandner, 06.11.2002; Koepplin Archive]

Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop

[Letter from C. Grimm to Dorotheum, Vienna, 12.12.2002; Koepplin Archive]
Cranach the Younger, or Hans Cranach? [Letter from D. Koepplin to Dorotheum, Vienna, 14.01.2003; Koepplin Archive]

Lucas Cranach the Younger

Cranach the Elder and workshop or Hans Cranach? [Letter from D. Koepplin to Dorotheum, Vienna, 14.01.2003; Koepplin Archive]

Hans Cranach

Cranach the Elder and workshop or Lucas Cranach the Younger? [Letter from D. Koepplin to Dorotheum, Vienna, 14.01.2003; Koepplin Archive]

Production date
about 1534

Production date

about 1534

[Letter from D. Koepplin to the Dorotheum, Vienna, 14.01.2003; Koepplin Archive]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 48.2 x 31.8 cm

Dimensions

Signature / Dating

none

Inscriptions and Labels
  • pearl embroidery around the sitter's neckline, in three bands: 'E.N.O.F.A.E. // N.OF.A.E. // .N.O.F.A.'
  • embroidered with pearls on her head …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • pearl embroidery around the sitter's neckline, in three bands:

  • 'E.N.O.F.A.E. // N.OF.A.E. // .N.O.F.A.'

    • embroidered with pearls on her head attire:

  • 'M'

Owner
Private Collection
Repository
Private Collection
CDA ID
PRIVATE_NONE-P433
FR (1978) Nr.
FR349C
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P433/

Provenance

  • Michel van Gelder, Chateau Zeecrabbe, Uccle, near Brussels, 1914
  • Dowdeswell Gallery, London, 1914
  • Galerie Schnackenberg, Munich 1927
    [see: letter from D. Koepplin to the Dorotheum, Vienna, 14.01.2003; Koepplin Archive]
  • Galerie Matthiesen, Berlin, 1927 - 1935
  • Braunschweig estate sale, Lepke, Berlin, 28.03.1935, lot 9
  • Dr H Wendland, Paris
  • A. S. Drey, Munich
  • Frank sale, Helbing, Frankfurt, 11.-13.05.1936, lot 156
  • Knoedler's, New York
  • Clenendin J. Ryan estate sale, Park Bernet, New York, 17-20.01.1940 [with Friedländer expertise, 06.10.1927 - now lost]
  • Newhouse Galleries, New York
  • Thomas Mellon Evans Collection, from 1964
  • sold at Christie's, New York, 22.05.1998, lot 54
    [page from an auction catalogue, Christie's, New York, 22.05.1998, lot 54; Koepplin Archive]
  • private collection
  • sold, Dorotheum, Vienna, 27.03.2003, lot 303
    [Dorotheum online database, accessed 07.09.2020]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 349C
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Zimmermann E. H. 1942 B 26-28 Fig. 3
AuthorErnst Heinrich Zimmermann
TitleBeiträge zur Ikonographie Cranachscher Bildnisse
JournalZeitschrift des deutschen Vereins für Kunstwissenschaft
Issue9
Year of Publication1942
Pages23-52
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 81 283b
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
  • Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony, about 1534

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
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  • overall
  • reverse

Technical studies

06.11.2002Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • X-radiography
  • UV-light photography
  • Stereomicroscopy

Support

Summary of an examination report (see attached pdf):

- probably beech wood panel

- dimensions (48.2 x 31.8 cm) correspond with the standard format C used in the Cranach workshop

Underdrawing

- an underdrawing is visible in the infrared reflectogram and is characterized by faint lines defining the main contours and describing essential details; probably executed using dark chalk

-

Paint Layers and Gilding

- the x-radiograph illustrates the characteristic rational technique employed in the Cranach workshop for rendering the flesh paint.

- it also shows that very few alterations were made during the painting process: only the eyes appear to have been originally posiitioned somewhat lower down.

- the infrared reflectogram on the other hand shows corrections made to the sleeve during the painting process

[Unpublished examination report, I. Sandner, 06.11.2002; Koepplin Archive]

Condition Reports

Date06.11.2002

Summary of examination report (see attached pdf):

Support:

  • thinned and cradled

Paint Layers:

  • minor losses e. g. area of the cheeks, white lining and along the bottom edge

  • some small retouches in the face and lower 5/6 cm of the panel

  • generally in good condition

Coatings:

  • uniform layer of varnish

  • small cleaning test visible on the right shoulder

[Unpublished examination report, I. Sandner, 06.11.2002; Koepplin Archive]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P433/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P433/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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