Reclining Water Nymph

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[cda 2020]

Cranach's painting of a classical nymph represents an Italian theme but gives it a moralizing twist. The nymph reclines beside a spring, perhaps a reference to a legendary ancient Roman fountain with which a similar Latin verse was associated. The inscription on this painting, 'I am the nymph of the sacred spring, do not disturb my sleep. I am resting', may be an allusion to the poem. Her bow and arrows hang from the boughs of a nearby tree, while partridges peck in the foreground and deer graze in the middle distance. However, the nude figure resting her head on the robe of a German court lady contributes another aspect to the idyllic scene by admiring herself beguilingly through lowered eyelids. The painting is intended both as an enticement and a warning to Cranach's sophisticated patrons.

[cda 2020]

Attribution: Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Letter from D. Koepplin to Newhouse Galleries, New York, 20.12.1990; Koepplin Archive]
[Christie's Online Database; accessed 07.07.2022]

Dating: about 1540 - 1545

Dating

about 1540 - 1545

[Letter from D. Koepplin to Newhouse Galleries, New York, 20.12.1990; Koepplin Archive]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 82.1 × 120.5 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 82.1 × 120.5 cm
[Christie's Online Database; accessed 07.07.2022]

Signature / Dating: Artist's insignia on the tree trunk: serpent with dropped wings, facing left; in yellow paint

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia on the tree trunk: serpent with dropped wings, facing left; in yellow paint

Inscriptions: - top left corner: 'FONTIS NYMPHA SACRI SOMNVM NE - // RVMPE QVIESC -'

Inscriptions

Inscriptions:

- top left corner:
'FONTIS NYMPHA SACRI SOMNVM NE - // RVMPE QVIESC -'

Owner: Private Collection
Repository: Private Collection

CDA ID: PRIVATE_NONE-P434
FR (1978) Nr.: FR-none
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P434/

Provenance

- private collection, USA
[Letter from D. Koepplin to Newhouse Galleries, New York, 20.12.1990; Koepplin Archive]

- (possibly) Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (1552-1612), Prague Castle, looted by Swedish troops in 1648 and transported to Sweden and possibly in the collection of the following
- Christina, Queen of Sweden (1626-1629), Stockholm, until 1654
- Count Gustaf Adolf Sparre (1746-1794), Sahlgrenska House, Gothenburg, and moved to Kulla Gunnarstorp, near Helsingborg, probably no later than 1775, where listed in his posthumous inventory of 1794, and by inheritance to his wife
- Countess Amelie (née Ramel) Sparre (1753-1830), Skåne, Sweden, and by descent to her daughter
- Christina Sparre (d. 1811), and by inheritance to her husband
- Count Jacob Gustaf de la Gardie (1768-1842), by whom sold with the estate in circa 1840 to, Count Carl de Geer of Leufstra (1781-1861), by whom given in 1855 upon her marriage to Axel Fredrik Wachtmeister to his granddaughter
- Elisabeth von Platen-Wachtmeister (1834-1918), Vanås, Sweden, with this painting remaining at Kulla Gunnarstorp, and by descent, until acquired by the following
- with Verner Amell Ltd, 1990, from whom acquired by the father of the present owners
- sold at Christie's, London, 07.07.2022, lot 6
[Christie's Online Database; accessed 07.07.2022]

Reclining Water Nymph, about 1540 - 1545

Images

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'Reclining Water Nymph', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P434/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'Reclining Water Nymph', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P434/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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