Virgin and Child in front of a Curtain held up by Angels

Virgin and Child in front of a Curtain held up by Angels

Title

Virgin and Child in front of a Curtain held up by Angels

[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

Painting on beech wood

Medium

Painting on beech wood

[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]
[Klein, Report 1995]

Two putti hold up a mid-green curtain against a neutral blue backdrop and are themselves partially concealed by it. One of them is in the top left corner and pulls the cloth with his raised left hand almost to the top edge of the painting, while holding it at about

Two putti hold up a mid-green curtain against a neutral blue backdrop and are themselves partially concealed by it. One of them is in the top left corner and pulls the cloth with his raised left hand almost to the top edge of the painting, while holding it at about chest height with his right hand. The diagonal course of the stretched edge of the cloth between his hands leaves a triangle in the corner free, which is occupied by his head, torso and wings. In addition his right leg is visible in front of the curtain on the left edge of the painting; and his concealed left knee is visible through the curtain above Christ's head. The second putto in the top right corner is considerably more concealed. He grasps the curtain from behind, so that his fingers are only visible from the knuckles and pull the hem up to the tip of his nose. Only the top half of his head and his wings rise above the curtain. In front of the curtain the Mother of God with the Christ Child are depicted as a knee-length figurative group. The Virgin is sitting almost frontally, with a slight inclination of her body to the left: her left knee appears to have shifted into the frontal plane, her left leg is positioned at an angle to the left, whereas her right leg is stretched out. Her left elbow also projects forward, whereas her right hand is positioned further back. She has turned her head to the left as she is also inclined in this direction. As such she moves closer to the Christ Child supported by her left hand under his right thigh and protectively embraced with her right hand on the side exposed to the viewer. The child is completely naked and is shown almost in profile. He stands on his left leg on his mother's thigh; he supports his bent right leg on her left hand. Climbing he stretches his face up towards his mother, and touches her on the cheek with his hand, while feeling her neck with his open right hand. He gazes diagonally upwards into his mother's eyes; here the curiosity of the small child, which is mixed with tenderness, is given appropriate expression. The Virgin wears a vermilion red cloak over a simple blue smock. It covers her left shoulder and her knee, while the green lining acts as a foil behind her raised arm and the child on the left of the painting. The lining of the broad sleeves of the smock create a further colour accent, revealing a luminous orange-red colour. The Virgin's long blond hair falls in thick curls; except for a single strand which is combed behind her ear, it creates an expansive boarder along the Virgin's shoulder. The composition shows the artist's endeavours to break with the symmetrical layout dictated by the subject and to introduce movement and tension into the static group. A consequence of this is the contraposto of the two putti in the corners holding the curtain. Indeed the position of the Virgin who sits turned slightly to one side, the slight shift of the centre of activity to the left and the assymetrical distribution of the colours also serve this purpose. Despite a slight opening on the left, the unity of the group is emphasized by the arrangement of the draperies, the protective embrace of the Virgin and the position of the child. Although the asymmetry is striking in comparison with other depictions of the Virgin by Cranach - see the painting in Erfurt -, an additional missing second panel or portrait of a praying donor should not be considered here.

[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

Production date
about 1527 - 1530

Production date

about 1527 - 1530

[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 82.2 x 56.4 x 1.1 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 82.2 x 56.4 x 1.1 cm

  • [Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

  • Dimensions of painted surface: 81.4 x 56.4 cm

  • [Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia on the left: winged serpent with steeply elevated wings

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia on the left: winged serpent with steeply elevated wings

  • [Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

Inscriptions and Labels

Reverse of the panel:
paper with blue boarder, printed with 'No', written in black ink '847'.

[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of the panel:

  • paper with blue boarder, printed with 'No', written in black ink '847'.

  • [Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

Owner
Städel Museum Frankfurt a.M.
Repository
Städel Museum Frankfurt a.M.
Location
Frankfurt am Main
CDA ID
DE_SMF_847
FR (1978) Nr.
FR162A
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SMF_847/

Provenance

02/07/1833: purchased from the art dealer Metzler in Mainz

Exhibitions

  • Dresden 1899, No. 83

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Brinkmann 2017 A 93
AuthorBodo Brinkmann
TitleDie Cranach-Forschung im digitalen Zeitalter - Von Friedländer/Rosenberg zum Cranach Digital Archive
Publicationin Gunnar Heydenreich, Daniel Görres, Beat Wismer, eds., Lucas Cranach der Ältere. Meister - Marke - Moderne. [Exhib. Cat. Düsseldorf 2017]
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2017
Pages92-96
Sandner, Heydenreich, Smith-Contini 2015 132, Fn. 32
AuthorGunnar Heydenreich, Ingo Sandner, Helen Smith-Contini
TitleVeränderungen beim Unterzeichnen in Cranachs Werkstatt und die Arbeitsweise von Sohn Lucas
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Link https://lucascranach.org/application/files/5215/6337/7366/Heydenreich_Sandner_Smith-Contini_2015_-_Unterzeichnung.pdf
Pages128-141
Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007 254 p. 254
EditorBodo Brinkmann
TitleCranach der Ältere, [Frankfurt, Städel Museum, 23 Nov 2007 - 17 Feb 2008]
Place of PublicationOstfildern
Year of Publication2007
Cat. Frankfurt 2005 173-180
AuthorStephan Kemperdick, Bodo Brinkmann
EditorStädelsches Kunstinstitut
TitleDeutsche Gemälde im Städel 1500 - 1550
Place of PublicationMainz
Year of Publication2005
Cat. Frankfurt 1999 29 pl. 15
AuthorBodo Brinkmann, Jochen Sander
TitleDeutsche Gemälde vor 1800 im Städel
Place of PublicationFrankfurt
Year of Publication1999
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 103 162A
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Wolters 1938 124 Figs. 75, 76
AuthorChristian Wolters
TitleDie Bedeutung der Gemäldedurchleuchtung mit Röntgenstrahlen für die Kunstgeschichte. Dargestellt an Beispielen aus der niederländischen und deutschen Malerei des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts
SeriesVeröffentlichungen zur Kunstgeschichte
Volume3
Place of PublicationFrankfurt am Main
Year of Publication1938
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 138B
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1932
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932
Michaelson 1902 63, 67, 86
AuthorHedwig Michaelson
TitleLukas Cranach der Ältere. Untersuchung über die stilistische Entwicklung seiner Kunst
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1902
Cat. Frankfurt 1900 74-75 86
AuthorHeinrich von Weizsäcker
TitleCatalog der Gemälde-Gallerie des Städelschen Kunstinstituts in Frankfurt am Main
Place of PublicationFrankfurt
Year of Publication1900
Flechsig 1900 A 253, 278
AuthorEduard Flechsig
TitleCranachstudien
Volume1
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1900
Link page/n5/mode/2up
Cat. Dresden 1899 60 83
AuthorKarl Woermann
TitleKatalog der Königlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Dresden. Grosse Ausgabe
Place of PublicationDresden
IssueFourth edition
Year of Publication1899
Link https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werkansicht/dlf/91887/7
Janitschek 1890 492
AuthorHubert Janitschek
TitleGeschichte der deutschen Malerei
SeriesGeschichte der deutschen Kunst
Volume3
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1890
Link https://archive.org/details/geschichtederdeu03jani
Schuchardt 1851 C 59 298
AuthorChristian Schuchardt
TitleLucas Cranach des Aeltern Leben und Werke. Zweiter Theil
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1851
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schuchardt1851bd2
  • Virgin and Child in front of a Curtain held up by Angels, about 1527 - 1530

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse
  • irr
  • detail
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Technical studies

03. 2013Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- fluid, black medium; brush and pen?

Type/Ductus:

- freehand schematic underdrawing (where visible)

- thin lines (visible on Christ’s foot and the arrangement of the folds on the left)

Function:

- relatively binding for the final painted version; no representation of volume

Deviations:

- almost no adjustments made during the painting process

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

Comments:

- in addition Brinkmann and Kemperdick [Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173–174] have identified a red chalk underdrawing

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich cda 2014]

  • photographed by Städel Museum Frankfurt a.M.

2005 - Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • X-radiography

[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

2005 - Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Dendrochronological analysis showed that the earliest annual ring is from the year 1513. Both planks are from the same tree as planks I and II of the painting 'Adam and Eve' [DE_smbGG_566_FR198C] by Cranach now in Berlin. Here the earliest annual ring is dated 1525 and therefore this later date must be taken as the earliest felling date. As the entire transverse section was employed and taking a seasoning period of c. two years into consideration it can be assumed that 1527 is the earliest possible date of creation for the painting.

[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

2005Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • reverse

Support

two vertically aligned planks (widths from left to right):

Plank I: top 23.5; bottom 24.4 cm

Plank II: top 33.2; bottom 32.6 cm, right-angled groove along the side edges

Underdrawing

An underdrawing is not visible in the infrared reflectogram; however occasional reddish, brown lines are visible with the naked eye, these agitated strokes appear to more or less follow the contours precisely. This phenomenon is most evident on the Virgin's left hand. The underdrawing may therefore have been executed in red chalk - a material occasionally employed by Cranach for this purpose. Red chalk is not visible in infrared.

Framing

modern

[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

08.02.1995Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Identification of wood species: beech wood

[Klein Report, 08.02.1995]

  • analysed by Peter Klein

Condition Reports

Date2005

Very bad. In the flesh paint and isolated areas of the draperies the image has been disfigured by overcleaning, this is particularly apparent on the neck as well as the nose and the Virgin's eyebrows and the left arm of the child.

[Cat. Frankfurt 2005, 173-180]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Virgin and Child in front of a Curtain held up by Angels', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SMF_847/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Virgin and Child in front of a Curtain held up by Angels', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_SMF_847/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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