Portrait of Caspar Cruciger

Portrait of Caspar Cruciger

Title

Portrait of Caspar Cruciger

[cda 2021]

Painting on wood, marouflaged

Medium

Painting on wood, marouflaged

[E-mail correspondance, from the owner to G. Heydenreich, 04.2021]

Caspar Cruciger is shown here in as a half-length figure in three-quarter profile, facing to the right against a light blue backdrop. Dressed in black, his light brown hair is cut in a bob and receding at the forehead. He has a neat beard and holds a small prayerbook in

Caspar Cruciger is shown here in as a half-length figure in three-quarter profile, facing to the right against a light blue backdrop. Dressed in black, his light brown hair is cut in a bob and receding at the forehead. He has a neat beard and holds a small prayerbook in his slightly diminutive hands.

[cda 2021]

Attributions
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Younger

Attributions

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[cda 2021]

Lucas Cranach the Younger

[Christie' online database, accessed 13.06.2022] [Christie's, New York, 11. Januar 1991, Lot 36]

Production date
after 1537

Production date

after 1537

[cda 2021]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 36 x 23 cm

Dimensions

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the left above the sitter's shoulder: serpent with dropped wings, facing left, with the initital 'L.' below; in black paint

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia at the left above the sitter's shoulder: serpent with dropped wings, facing left, with the initital 'L.' below; in black paint

Inscriptions and Labels

Reverse of panel: - at top right, in red marker: 'X46316'

  • beneath this, printed paper label from Christie's 'Ref.: # …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of panel: - at top right, in red marker: 'X46316'

    • beneath this, printed paper label from Christie's 'Ref.: # FX517 // Line ' 2 Dept. omp'
    • beneath this at the left, typed on a square paper label: '11 JAN 91 // SALE 7212 // LOT 36'

  • Reverse of the frame:

    • top member, small, circular paper label: 'CHRISTIES FX517'
    • top member, remnants of a further paper label
    • top member, regtangular paper label: 'NICHOLAS M. ACQUAVELLA // Galleries // 38EAST STREET NEW YORK CITY N. Y. // LUCAS CRANACH (1472-1553) // "Portrait of a Man" // 24 x 9 inches. // 3021'
    • left member: numbers in white chalk
    • right member, typed on a square paper label (2x): '11 JAN 91 // SALE 7212 // LOT 36'
Owner
Private Collection
Repository
Private Collection
CDA ID
PRIVATE_NONE-P516
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P516/

Provenance

  • (Possibly) The Danish Royal Collection, circa 1740.
  • Cornelis Hoogendijk (1866-1911), The Hague; (†), Frederik Muller & Cie., Amsterdam, 14 May 1912, lot 17.
  • Albert Keller, Esq., New York, by 1928.
  • (Possibly) Birnbaum collection, Berlin, circa 1930.
  • (Possibly) with Rosenberg & Steibel, New York, circa 1945.
  • with Nicholas M. Acquavella, New York, by 1968, as 'Portrait of a Man' (according to a label on the reverse).
  • Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 15 January 1987, lot 12, as 'Portrait of a bearded man holding a book'.
  • with Joseph B. Guttmann Galleries, Beverly Hills, by 1987.
    [Christie's online database, accessed 13.06.2022]
  • sold at Christie's, New York, 11. Januar 1991, Lot 36
  • private collection, USA
    [E-mail correspondance, from the owner to G. Heydenreich, 04.2021]
  • auctioned at Christie's, New York, 10.06.2022, lot 24
    [Christie's online database, accessed 13.06.2022]

Exhibitions

Amsterdam, The Rijksmuseum, 1907-1911
New York 1928, no. 37

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Cat. Amsterdam 1911 108 735b
EditorRoeloffzen-Hübner, Van Santen
TitleCatalogue des tableaux, miniatures, pastels, dessins encadrés, etc., du Musée de l'État à Amsterdam avec supplemen.
Place of PublicationAmsterdam
Year of Publication1911
Link https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k64819817/f1.item
Show Literature
Cat. Amsterdam 1909 366 735b
EditorRoeloffzen-Hübner, Van Santen
TitleCatalogus der schilderijen, miniaturen, pastels, omlijste teekeningen, enz. in het Rijks-museum te Amsterdam
Place of PublicationAmsterdam
Year of Publication1909
Link https://archive.org/details/catalogusderschi00rijk_3/page/366/mode/2up
Show Literature

not-assigned

Dieses Porträt hat ähnliche Maße wie ein Porträt des Philipp Melanchthon in Amsterdam [NL_RM_SK-A-2561]. Beide Gemälde haben eine ähnliche Signatur: eine Schlange mit liegenden Flügeln und das Monogramm "L" darunter, jeweils in schwarzer Farbe. Laut einem Aufsatz im Auktionskatalog von Christie's (10.06.2022, Los 24) wurden beide Gemälde 1909 im Rijksmuseum Amsterdam als Pendants ausgestellt [see Cat. Amsterdam 1909, 366, nos. 735b/735c].

Eine ähnliche Signatur findet sich auf zwei weiteren Tafeln, beide in Oldenburg: einem Porträt des Erasmus von Rotterdam [DE_LmKKO_15-574] und einem Portrait des Veit Dietrich oder Caspar Cruciger [?] auf dem Totenbett [DE_LmKKO_15-574]. Beide Porträts haben ebenfalls ähnliche Maße.

[cda 2022]

,

Research History / Discussion

This portrait is of approximately the same dimensions as a Portrait of Philipp Melanchthon now in the Mauritshuis in The Hague [NL_RM_SK-A-2561]. Both paintingd exhibit the same signature: a serpent with dropped wings facing left, with the monogram 'L' inscribed beneath it, both executed in black paint. According to an essay in the christie's auction catalogue (10.06.2022, lot 24) both paintings were exhibited as pendants while on loan to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam in 1909 [see Cat. Amsterdam 1909, 366, nos. 735b/735c]. A similar signature has been identified on a further two panels, both now in Oldenburg: a Portrait of Erasmus[DE_LmKKO_15-574] and a Portrait of Veit Dietrich or Caspar Cruciger [?] on his Deathbed [DE_LmKKO_15-575]. Both also of approximately the same dimensions.

[cda 2022]

  • Portrait of Caspar Cruciger, after 1537

Images

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Similar Motifs

Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam
  • Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1549
  • DE_LmKKO_15-574
  • Painting
  • Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Oldenburg
Veit Dietrich on his Deathbed
  • Veit Dietrich on his Deathbed, after 1549
  • DE_LmKKO_15-575
  • Painting
  • Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Oldenburg
Philipp Melanchthon
  • Philipp Melanchthon, 1540 - 1560
  • NL_RM_SK-A-2561
  • Painting
  • Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Portrait of Caspar Cruciger', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P516/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Portrait of Caspar Cruciger', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P516/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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