Heraclitus

Heraclitus

Title

Heraclitus

[cda 2019]

Painting on hardwood

Medium

Painting on hardwood

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 418-425, no. 111]

The philosopher is depicted as a half-length figure, turned slightly to the right against a green background. He is wearing a black academic gown. He supports his head on his left arm and is holding a white handkerchief. His wrinkled, beardless face is wet with tears and the corners of

The philosopher is depicted as a half-length figure, turned slightly to the right against a green background. He is wearing a black academic gown. He supports his head on his left arm and is holding a white handkerchief. His wrinkled, beardless face is wet with tears and the corners of his mouth are drooped.

[see: Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 418-425, no. 111]

Attribution
Franz Timmermann

Attribution

Franz Timmermann

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 418-425, No. 111]

Production date
1538

Production date

1538

[Pendant dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 25.9 x 20 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 25.9 x 20 cm

  • Dimensions including frame: 35.9 x 29.9 cm

  • [Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 418-425, no. 111]

Signature / Dating

Pendant signed and dated

Signature / Dating

  • Pendant signed and dated

Inscriptions and Labels
  • above the sitter's head: 'HERACLITVS'
  • at the bottom edge: 'QVOD VITA EST HO[M]NIVM, DVBIIS TAM PLENA PERICLIS / CVLTA …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • above the sitter's head: 'HERACLITVS'
    • at the bottom edge: 'QVOD VITA EST HO[M]NIVM, DVBIIS TAM PLENA PERICLIS / CVLTA FACIT LACHRYMIS, ORA MADERE PIIS.'

  • [Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 418-425, No. 111]

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • on the reverse: - adhesive label with a stamp: 'Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel' and inventory no.: 'B63'

  • on the frame:

    • adhesive label from the restorer Müller-Jung with information about the conservation treatment

  • [Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 418-425, No. 111]

Owner
Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Repository
Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Location
Wolfenbüttel
CDA ID
DE_HABW_B63
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B63/

Provenance

  • unknown
  • first recorded about 1870 in an inventory by Thies
    [Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 418-425, no. 111]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012 418-425 No. 111 Figs. 111, 111.1
AuthorMichael Wenzel
TitleDie Gemälde der Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Place of PublicationWiesbaden
Year of Publication2012
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

The two panels depicting Democritus and Heraclitus as ‚laughing and crying‘ philosophers are a remarkable testimony to the status of humanist subjects, as well as the reception of antiquity in Germany in the first half of the 16th century. As far as we know these portraits are the earliest and for some decades the only representations of this subject in Germany to have survived. Although they were published in 1904 in ‘Bau- und Kunstdenkmälern der Stadt Wolfenbüttel’ the paintings from Wolfenbüttel are not mentioned in any other previous scholarly literature.

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 418-425, No. 110-111]

  • Heraclitus, 1538

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse

Technical studies

Support

- a protective coating was applied to the reverse of the panel

- the edges of the panel is chamfered

Framing

- blackish brown, fluted profile with wave moulding decorating both the interior and exterior.

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 418-425, No. 111]

Condition Reports

  • fine craquelé, mainly with vertical cracks in the direction of the grain

  • numerous fills and retouches, particularly along the crack formation and at the edges

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 418-425, No. 111]

Conservation History

Date26.03.2019 - 22.03.1969

'1969 conservation treatment by Heinz Müller-Jung'

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 418-425, No. 111]

  • conservation treatment by Heinz Müller-Jung

Support made from the same tree

Democritus
  • Democritus, 1538
  • DE_HABW_B35
  • Painting
  • Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Heraclitus', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B63/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Heraclitus', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B63/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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