Portrait of Johann the Steadfast from Diptych: Two Electors of Saxony

The panels are each formed from three thin boards of wood with grain running horizontally.

The backs of both panels are painted black. On NG6538 there is a later inscription in red which reads N27 28. Two shields are painted on the back of NG6539

The grounds of the obverses are of chalk. The reverses are painted directly on to the wood with no ground. There does not appear to be any priming.

- nothing that could be definitely identified as underdrawing was found with infrared reflectography.

The medium of the paint of the green background and black robe in NG6538, and of the green sleeve in NG6539, was identified by GC–MS analysis as linseed oil.[1] A sample of red paint from the pattern on the sleeves in NG6539 was found to contain linseed oil together with with a little pine resin.

Pigments

Verdigris forms the basis for the green background of Johann the Steadfast (NG6538). In the opaque underpaint it is mixed with lead white and lead-tin yellow, while in the final translucent layers it is used alone. Very similar green paint mixtures were used for the main colour of the costume of Johann Friedrich (NG6539). The intense red strips on the boy’s costume consist of vermilion of exceptional quality and the same pigment combined with red earth and black makes up the more brownish-red stripes. There are pale yellow highlights of lead-tin yellow on the gold chain. The basic pale pink tone of the flesh paint is a mixture of white and a little vermilion, with some black pigment in addition in the shadows.

Painting technique

In common with many pictures by Cranach the flesh is thinly painted. Details such as the twisted braids decorating Johann the Steadfast’s hat have been skilfully painted, with rapidly applied touches for the pearls and impasto yellow highlights for the gold, for example for the threads at the end, where the lighter green underpaint has been deliberately left exposed around them to indicate the overall shape of the tuft at the top right of the hat. Similarly, the feather is formed of wet-in-wet strokes of grey and black and has circular markings with the impasto typical of a bodied lead-tin yellow paint.

[1] There was no indication of heat-prepolymerisation of of the addition of resin.

The frames are original. The profiles, with their simple deep scotia moulding and raised outer edge enriched with a narrow half round, are similar to those found on other frames of works by Cranach of this period.[1] They are joined with a double mortise and tenon joint.[2] It can be seen in X-ray images that neither frame fits the panel exactly: there are gaps top and bottom, although the frames fit tightly on the left and right; however, this can be explained by the natural contraction across the grain of the panels, and is not any indication that the portraits were not originally in these frames.

The outer edges and the backs of the frames are painted black. The inner mouldings were originally gilded although what is now visible is mainly the golden-yellow oil mordant (adhesive) [3], and only fragments of the gold leaf remain. Traces of this mordant pass beneath the black background on NG6539 confirming that it is original and was already in place when the background was painted. On NG6538 there are traces of the original final translucent green paint of the background on the gold, indicating that it was applied when the frames were complete. However, painting of the portraits and decoration of the frames were probably carried out concurrently, since there are also traces of gold from the frame on top of the black background of NG6539 at the left edge The frames are joined with iron hinges and handmade iron nails; this was done after gilding as the tips of the nails are visible in the mouldings.[4]

[1] [Koepplin 1974]; [Heydenreich 2007 A, 76–9]

[2] [Heydenreich 2007 A, 76]

[3] FTIR analysis suggested that the binding medium of the mordant is oil.

[4] Ibid., p. 78; fig. 60, p. 80, shows the hinge.

[Susan Foister, ‘Lucas Cranach the Elder, Portrait of Johann the Steadfast and Portrait of Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous’ published online 2015, from 'The German Paintings before 1800', London: forthcoming.

www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/research/lucas-cranach-the-elder-portraits-of-johann-the-steadfast-and-johann-friedrich-the-magnanimous]

DESCRIPTION

- An underdrawing is not readily visible

[Sandner, Smith-Contini, Heydenreich, cda 2017]

"Linseed oil was identified in green, red and black paints on the portraits of Johann the Steadfast and Johann Friedrich I the Magnanimous (1509) and there is no doubt that drying oils predominate in his panel painting."

[Heydenreich 2007, 169], [see also White, Pilc 1995, 88-89]

Sample No.: 5

Sample location: edge, right-hand side

Brief description of paint: trace of yellow brown line on green background, – is this the same as mordant on frame?

Observations:

- is this the correct cross-section photograph (see pdf for image)

Sample No.: 4

Sample location: extreme left-hand edge and extra fragment of ground for XRD)

Brief description of paint: Green of background (several flakes)

Observations:

- white chalk ground

- dense underlayer of white and lead-tin yellow and verdigris

- verdigris based glaze

EDX of white ground : Ca

Sample No.: 3

Sample location: extreme edge, lower right-hand side

Brief description of paint: grey of tunic, edge of sleeve

Observations:

- Grey largely charcoal-like pigment with a little white – see also grey fragment in S2

Sample No.: 2

Sample location: extreme right-hand edge

Brief description of paint: black of tunic

Observations:

- grey (dark) some charcoal black fragments (see pdf for image)

Sample No.: 1

Sample location: lower edge for layer structure.

Brief description of paint: miniscule sample of greyish-pink flesh of hand

Observations:

- Greyish pink (lead white, trace black and vermilion (see pdf for image)

'There is no evidence that the frame is not original but its construction and the presence of small patches of unpainted ground rather than broken ’barbe’ at the upper and lower edges indicate that the frame was assembled around the panel after it was painted and not before the application of the ground and the paint layers as was usually the case in the fifteenth century.'

[National Gallery Examination and Conservation Report 1995 (unpublished)]

- the support is a softwood panel. An examination to establish the species was not possible as the painting is fixed in the original frame. The wood is of high quality. It is a fine-grained wood, which does not exhibit any knots in the x-radiograph. The panel consists of three planks joined in the shortest direction of expansion (horizontal).

- the widths of the planks are c. 13.8 cm, 17.5 cm und 13 cm (12.8 cm).

- a wooden insert measuring c. 1.4 x 1.9 cm was used on the right below the centre to treat an area of damage (7 cm from the right, 19.5 cm from the bottom).

- there is no reinforcement visible along the joins. The reverse has a very smooth finish. The edges of the panel are straight. The format of the panel has not been altered.

- the ground layer on the recto is white and relatively thinly applied

- there are numerous tiny bubbles in the chalk ground, which were sanded down. These appear consistently white in the x-radiograph and must therefore be filled with paint containing lead

- the barbe is preserved on all four sides, but is pronounced to a varying degree

- with respect to the imprimatura examination achieved the following results: ‚The tiny, sanded down bubbles in the chalk ground are filled with a medium that absorbs x-rays, and which is irrespective of the colour of the paint. This observation suggests an isolating layer with lead-containing oil or an imprimatura containing lead. In the cross-section (of the sample taken from the edge) an imprimatura could not be verified.’

- an underdrawing could not be detected employing infrared reflectography

- the flesh paint contains primarily lead white and relatively coarse vermilion (A. Roy, verbal communication). The flesh paint was applied with an initial pale flesh coloured tone and subsequently modulated with brown glazes. The highlights employing an admixture of white, red, single blue pigments and possibly some black were applied in part over the brown glaze and were then again shaded with greyish brown glazes. (This multiple layer structure is particularly visible in the area of the eyelids.) The painted highlights over the brown glazes exhibit drying cracks; it is possible that the glazes were not yet dry. In comparison with its pendant there are fewer highlights visible in the x-radiograph.

- the green paint in the background was applied in numerous layers. ‘While the underpainting is a lighter, opaque admixture of presumably verdigris and lead tin yellow, the upper layer apears to be dark green and more transparent. However pigment particles (presumably verdigris) are also visible in the cross-section of this layer. The semi-transparent green layer was applied after completion of the black robe.

- according to a verbal communication by Ashok Roy lead tin yellow was identified in the elector’s jewellery.

- in the black and green areas of the painting a brush of c. 5 mm in width was employed

- original frame (mortise and tenon frame) with a steeply sloped rainsill. The dimensions of the frame are 49.3 x 38.6 cm. The members are 3.8 to 3.9 cm wide and 3.0 cm deep. The frame has a double mortise and tenon join.

- both panels are held together with the original iron hinge

- the hinge was attached to the frame after the coating was applied. the tips of the nails are partially visible on the inner profile of the frame and have slightly damaged it.

- Coatings: the flat edge, the side edges and the reverse are black; the flute and the inner edge or the bottom champfer are gilded over a white ground and a yellowish or ocher coloured mordent. The mordent covers the background in places. According to a verbal communication by Ashok Roy the mordent on the frame is the same as that on the background and contains large quantities of Si (silicon), quantities of Fe (iron) and Ca (calcium) and some lead.’

- The following observations were made regarding the sequence of framing and painting: traces of the green paint from the background and the black paint from the robe were detected on the frame beneath the gilding. The frame was gilded after the painting was finished as there are also traces of mordant on the green background.

[Gunnar Heydenreich, Examination Report, 1994 (unpublished)]

- the verso of the panel does not exhibit a ground layer beneath the black coating

[Dülberg 1990, 188]

The frame exhibits the same profile and finish as that of Cranach’s portrait of Christoph Scheurl from 1509.

[see Koepplin, Falk, Exhib. Cat Basel 1974,Vol. 2, No. 596, 597]

The panels and frames have suffered worm damage, but are otherwise in good condition. The dull yellow paint on the frames is the exposed mordant or adhesive for the original gilding; only traces of gold leaf remain. The paint of NG6538 is in excellent condition, with only a few tiny flake losses. There may be some fading of a red lake pigment in the flesh paint of the sitter's hands. NG6539 has more small losses, from the green paint of the sitter's costume, along the grain of the wood, but is still in very good condition.

[Susan Foister, 'Lucas Cranach the Elder, Portrait of Johann the Steadfast and Portrait of Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous' published online 2015, from 'The German Paintings before 1800', London: forthcoming.

www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/research/lucas-cranach-the-elder-portraits-of-johann-the-steadfast-and-johann-friedrich-the-magnanimous]

Support:

constructed from three horizontal planks, possibly lime or beech; no evidence that the frame is not original but its construction and the presence of small patches of unpainted ground rather than a broken 'barbe' at the upper and lower edges indicate that the frame was assembled around the panel after it was painted and not before the application of the ground and paint layers as was usually the case in the fifteenth century.

Panel in a very good condition, flat and with the joins secure (they can be detected only in raking light and in X-radiograph), but both panel and frame have suffered some woodworm damage. The exit holes from the panel are all through the back and have mostly been plugged with an x-ray opaque material. The damage to the frame is more extensive with many exit holes. The tunneling under the sharp profiles of the rebate and mouldings makes them particularly vulnerable to damage. The status of the gilding that survives will be investigated but it is not intended that any treatment be carried out to the frame other than consolidation of the areas weakened by woodworm.

Paint and ground:

The painting is generally well-preserved, but there is an area of tented blisters in the green paint to the right of the head. Some slight damage has been caused by past treatment of similar blisters in the sitter's right cheek. Some of the fine details executed with black paint - for example the eyebrows and edges of the beard - is a little rubbed. The horizontal line of spatters across the costume is on top of the varnish.

Surface coating: The varnish is thin and moderately discoloured. Over this is a layer of orange-coloured surface dirt (probably nicotine). The breakdown through oxidation of the old varnish seems to be emphasizing the craquelure of the painting.

Treatment proposed:

Remove surface dirt and discoloured varnish. Secure the blisters and consolidate the frame. Revarnish and retouch where necessary.

[Examination made by Jill Dunkerton, 23 Feb 1995].

'The diptych has been preserved within the context of its original structure.`

[Dülberg 1990, 188]

Cleaned and restored by Jill Dunkerton, frame consolidated by Louisa Davey

Detailed report:

The layer of nicotine-coloured surface dirt was removed with saliva, making an appreciable difference to the colour of the painting. The varnish underneath was not especially discoloured but it had become sufficiently opaque for there to be a considerable improvement to be saturation of the colours on its removal, above all in the black of the costume where many details of its construction had not previously been apparent. The varnish was readily soluble in IMS (industrial methylated spirits) and is unlikely to be very old. The retouching were also readily soluble although where they were thicker some acetone was used.

This panel turned out to be more extensively retouched than had been expected. The cracked area of the cheek previously thought to have been damaged by blister treatment turned out to have been repainted to cover the dark lines or shadows which seem to be part of the final modeling, although slightly rubbed and perhaps darkened in some way. The cracks were in the repaint which was soluble in the same solvents as the other retouching. In the photographs taken during cleaning it can be seen how the much the repaint flattened the structure and volume of the face. Other retouching on the head were in the hair and beard, especially well-preserved. The hands are more thinly and less vigorously painted and some fading of the colour may have occurred: a band of pinker-coloured paint can be seen along the lower edge where it was once protected by the frame (the planks of the panel have shrunk slightly across the grain so that edges which were once covered are now exposed). The hands have the slightly grey colour characteristic of faded pinks but there may also be a thin film of old surface dirt. No attempt was made to remove this for fear of accentuating the difference between the pale hands and ruddier and more densely painted face.

The green background had been extensively stippled with retouching to reduce the uneven application of the transparent green glaze. There are only a few small areas of damage and abrasion (notably in the upper corners) and most of the patchy effect is part of the original bold and rapid technique, perhaps now exaggerated to some extend by slight discoloration of the paint. Some of the marks indicate the end of the brushstrokes, others are the results of blotting the glaze with a rag. In several areas the grids of minute spots of glaze which result from the blotting can be seen. Their survival is a good indication of the excellent state of preservation of the glaze.

A small area of blistering paint in the background to the right of the head was treated with sturgeon glue and an electrically-heated spatula.

During the cleaning of this panel and NG 6539 evidence was discovered which confirmes that the frames are original. It seems that the panels were not framed when the painting began but that by the later stages of painting, including the application of the glazes, the frames had been fitted. Often the green glazes do not reach the edges and corners, specks of paint from the paintings appear on the edges of the frame rebates (confirmed by sampling as the same paint) and in the case of this panel a smear of the yellow brown mordant used in the gliding of the frame can be seen on the green background along the right edge.

The outer edges and the sharpest profiles of the mouldings of the frames are particularly vulnerable to damage caused by the collapse of woodworm tunnels running just below the surface. These areas were injected with Paraloid B-67 in white spirit to consolidate the wood and a few splintered and collapsed areas were shored up with a filler consisting of woodflour and B-67. Retouching of the frames (carried out during the restoration of the panels with pigments in Paraloid B-72) has been kept to a minimum, just reducing some of the lightest and more recent-looking areas of damage. The frames were masked during the final varnishing of the painted surfaces.

Some of the fillings were replaced or adjusted with a filler consisting of chalk in a polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinyl acetate emulsion filler. To obtain optimum reflectance for the brilliant greens the base colour was painted in watercolours before the application of the first varnish, Ketone-N in white spirit with a few drops of benzyl alcohol to ensure wetting and saturation of the black paint. The rest of the retouching was carried out with pigments in Paraloid B-72 and the final sprayed varnish was Ketone-N in white spirit. In the green areas care was taken to retouch only where damage could be seen to habe occurred ¿ the brushmarking and blotting have been left clearly visible.

• 1948 cleaned

[Koepplin, Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974]