The Virgin and Child under an Apple Tree

Title

[cda 2023]

Painting on oak

Medium

Painting on oak

[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 26.03.2023]

The mother and child look out of the picture at the viewer. The Virgin is represented as a seated half-length figure with long strawberry blond locks cascading over her shoulders. She wears a bluish green cloak over a red undergarment. The expansive folds reveal a yellowish green lining. A gossamer veil around her neck covers her head and is visible on her forehead as very thin line above her eyes. The Virgin sits under an apple tree and supports the infant Christ, who stands on her lap, holding a piece of bread and an apple. An expansive landscape with a lake and a castle on a rocky outcrop is visible behind the Virgin’s right shoulder.

[cda 2023]

Attributions: Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Younger

Attributions

Copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder	[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 26.03.2023]
Lucas Cranach the Younger	[Letter from Roberto Longhi, Florence, 15.09.1953]

Production dates: about 1550 - 1750
about 1550

Production dates

about 1550 - 1750	[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 26.03.2023]
about 1550	[Letter from Roberto Longhi, Florence, 15.09.1953]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 86 x 57.8 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 86 x 57.8 cm
[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 26.03.2023]

Signature / Dating: none

Inscriptions and Labels

On the reverse of the panel (on the cradle):

label with the handwritten inscription '2/In'
[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination, …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

On the reverse of the panel (on the cradle):
- label with the handwritten inscription '2/In'
[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination, 26.03.2023]

Owner: Private Collection
Repository: Private Collection

CDA ID: PRIVATE_NONE-P593
FR (1978) Nr.: FR-none
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P593/

Provenance

private collection, Italy, c. 1553
[Letter from Roberto Longhi, Florence, 15.09.1953]
private collection, Sweden, 2023
[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 19.03.2023]

Research History / Discussion

The composition is almost identical with a panel painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder from about 1525-29, 87 x 59 cm, today in the The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg [RU_ESP_GE684]

[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 26.03.2023]

By comparison with other works by Lucas Cranach the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Younger and their workshop there are a number of significant differences apparent, leading to the conclusion that this painting is a later copy of the painting in the Hermitage Museum, and was produced by a painter outside of the Cranach workshop, most likely after 1550 and before 1750.

[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 26.03.2023]

The Virgin and Child under an Apple Tree, about 1550 - 1750

Images

Technical studies

26.03.2023Technical examination / Scientific analysis

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

Support

Methods of examination at the Centro Ricerche Sul Dipinto, Vicenza: ESEM/EDX and FTIR; at Fabio Frezzanto, Milan: Infrared reflectography; at the CICS: stereomicroscopy and x-radiography

The wood used for the painting support is oak. The panel consists of two or more boards with the grain running vertically.

Ground and Imprimatura

The panel has a white calcium-carbonate-based ground. There is no barb visible at the edges.

Underdrawing

An underdrawing is not visibe in the infrared reflectogram.

Paint Layers and Gilding

EDX-analysis was employed to detect the elements present in the paint layers and by comparing their optical characteristics these elements the following pigments were identified: lead white, lead-tin-yellow, type I, ochre, azurite, smalt, copper green pigment, carbon based black.

A brownish imprimatura was detected above the calcium-carbonate based ground layer, This imprimatura layer contains lead white, a few particles of red lead and ochre.

[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 26.03.2023]

Condition Reports

Date26.03.2023

The painting is in a stable condition.

Support:

The reverse has been thinned to about 5 mm and cradled at a later date. The edges show signs of minor trimming.

A few wood worm channels have been filled on the reverse the panel.

Paint layers:

A few retouches are visible under UV-light.

Only minor cracks are visible in the paint layers.

[Blumenroth, Heydenreich, unpublished examination report, 26.03.2023]

Versions

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'The Virgin and Child under an Apple Tree', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P593/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'The Virgin and Child under an Apple Tree', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P593/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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