Sibylle of Cleve, Electress of Saxony

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[cda 2022]

A half-length portrait of Sibylle of Cleve in three quarter profile, facing to her right with her arms folded in front of her. She presents herself in fashionably courtly attire: a black dress with decorative brocade, a stiff collar and puffed sleeves over a white pleated blouse with an embroidered high ruff collar. Her hair is tucked under an embroidered snood, and a black beret decorated with feathers and set at an angle completes her outfit. The embroidery on her collar and the band of the snood feature parts of her motto ‘Alles in Ehren’. Some additional accessories include a pendant with precious stones, two linked chains and various rings.

[cda 2022]

Attributions: Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder	[cda 2022]
Lucas Cranach the Elder	According to a photocertificate from Max Friedländer, 03.01.1929 [Christie's, Auct. Cat. New York 1999 A, lot 114]

Dating: 1535

Dating

1535

[dated]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 20.3 x 14.6 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 20.3 x 14.6 cm
[Christie's, Auct. Cat. New York 1999 A, lot 114]

Signature / Dating: Artist's insignia at the bottom right: serpent with elevated wings facing left and dated '1535'; in black paint

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the bottom right: serpent with elevated wings facing left and dated '1535'; in black paint

Inscriptions: - sewn in pearls on her collar (first and second register): 'ALS IN EHREN // IN EHREN'

Inscriptions

Inscriptions:

- sewn in pearls on her collar (first and second register):
'ALS IN EHREN // IN EHREN'

Labels: Recto: - at the bottom left: in paint: '1368'
[cda 2022]
Verso:
Count Löwendal's seal (Freiherren, in Saxony …

Labels

later inscription, stamps, seals, labels:

Recto: - at the bottom left: in paint: '1368'
[cda 2022]
Verso:
Count Löwendal's seal (Freiherren, in Saxony and Denmark from 1682)
[Christie's, Auct. Cat. New York 1999 A, lot. 114]

Owner: Private Collection
Repository: Private Collection

CDA ID: PRIVATE_NONE-P550
FR (1978) Nr.: FR-none
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P550/

Provenance

- possibly from the collection of Count Löwendal, Freiherren, in Saxony and Denmark from 1682 (his seal is on the reverse) [1]
- formerly in the Royal Painting Collection (kgl. Gemäldegalerie), Dresden, Inv. no. 1368
- possibly sold in 1756 to Carl Heinrich von Heineken (1707-1791), director of the cabinet of prints and drawings (Kupferstichkabinetts)
- Lanfranconi collection, auctioned in Cologne, 1895 [2] (in fact the painting sold in this auction was [PRIVATE_NONE-P441]; see [Auct. Cat. Cologne 1895, no. 39]
- Arnold Van Büren; his sale, Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 26/27.05.1925 [1] (in fact the painting sold in this auction was [PRIVATE_NONE-P441]; see [Auct. Cat. Amsterdam 1925, no. 26]
- acquired by Böhler from Dr. Löwe, Berlin, 13.11.1928 [2]
- Böhler Art dealer, Munich, sold 20.11.1928 (Schönemann and Lampl, Berlin)[2]
- Dr. Rudolph; sale, Hamburg, 1950 (not checked)[1]
- sale, Sotheby's, London, 27.06.1962, lot 82 (not checked)[1]
- collection of Miss Bellesi [1]
- auctioned at Christie's, New York, 25.05.1999, lot 114 [1]
[1][Christie's, Auct. Cat. New York 1999 A, lot 114]
[2][Böhler online database, accessed 21.09.2022]

Literature

Reference on page

Catalogue Number

Figure / Plate

Auct. Cat. New York 1999 A

130, 131

114

Fig. p. 131

Editor	Christie's Fine Art Auction House, New York
Title	Important Old Master Paintings, Christie's New York, 25.05.1999
Place of Publication	New York
Year of Publication	1999

Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

Secondary sources occasionally confuse this painting with [PRIVATE_NONE-P441].

[cda 2022]

Sibylle of Cleve, Electress of Saxony, 1535

Images

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'Sibylle of Cleve, Electress of Saxony', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P550/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'Sibylle of Cleve, Electress 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-P550/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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