Portrait of Magdalena of Saxony, Wife of Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg

- the beech wood panel is composed of three planks with horizontal grain joined at 15.8 cm and 38.8 cm from the top at the left edge

- dendrochronological analysis places the earliest heartwood ring at 1525 [1]

[1]Report by Peter Klein, Jan. 16, 1990. Since beech wood panels could be made using all of the wood out to the bark, 1525 is also the earliest possible felling date; however, compare the dendrochronology for the pendant: dendrochronological analysis of the Philadelphia panel indicates a youngest growth ring of 1522. Peter Klein reported that none of the three horizontal planks came from the same tree as the companion piece; report of Jan. 16, 1990, copy in curatorial file.

- the original chalk ground and paint layers extend to the edge of the panel at the top and bottom, but are not at the sides

- infrared reflectography reveals rather vigorous underdrawn contour lines, probably in a liquid medium, in the costume, and a finer, more precise line in a dry medium for the features; the contours of the mouth in particular suggests the use of a cartoon

- at the painted stage, the hat was made smaller and the plume larger than in the underdrawn design

- the puffs of the sitter’s left sleeve were also reduced in size

[Cat. Chicago 2008, 349, 352]

Identification of wood species: beech wood

Dendrochronology: plank I 72 annual rings 1521 - 1450; planks II 106 annual rings 1525 - 1420; plank III 117 annual 1522 - 1406

The youngest annual ring is from 1525

[Klein report, 02.12.1993]

• thinned and cradled

• there is a horizontal split across the centre of the panel at 29.5 cm from the top at the left edge

• the neat appearance of the panel edges suggests that it has been trimmed slightly on all sides; the exposed wood has been overpainted at the edges

• the overall condition of the paint layer is good; some losses along the joins, particularly at the lower one, and in an irregularly shaped area (4 x 2.5 cm) in the robe at lower right

• a band of wide aperture traction crackle in the light areas along both joins is particularly evident across the eyes, eyebrows, right forehead, and temple, and has been inpainted to diminish its distracting appearance

• additional inpainting is located along the split across the centre and in small scattered areas of the hat, and along the bottom edge of the red robe

• the thin glazes modelling the facial features and the left side of the face are somewhat abraded

[Cat. Chicago 2008, 349, 352]

• cleaned in 1988 by Faye Wrubel [1]

[1] Overpaint removed in 1988 was added after 1900, as evident from comparison with the illustration in the 1891 catalogue of the Buchner sale and in Galerie Sedelmeyer 1900. The overpaint gave the face a slimmer contour.

[Cat. Chicago 2008, 349, 352]

• superficially cleaned in 1970 by Alfred Jakstas

[Cat. Chicago 2008, 349, 352]