St Barbara

St Barbara

Title

St Barbara

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Painting on limewood

Medium

Painting on limewood

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

St Barbara is positioned almost in the central axis, however with a gently inclined head and slightly retracted right shoulder she turns to the left. The vertical direction of the folds in the skirt and the tower (including its elongated window) contribute emphatically to the layout. At the same time

St Barbara is positioned almost in the central axis, however with a gently inclined head and slightly retracted right shoulder she turns to the left. The vertical direction of the folds in the skirt and the tower (including its elongated window) contribute emphatically to the layout. At the same time the torsion of the saint is additionally emphasised by the bulging contours of the drapery on the left side and the diagonal curvature of the curtain hem below the saint's left hand.

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 60]

Attributions
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Exhib. Cat. Gotha 2015, No. 5] [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 31]

Hans Baldung Grien

[Cat. Kassel 1819, 13]

Production dates
about 1510
about 1504

Production dates

about 1510

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

about 1504

[Flechsig 1900 B, 81]

about 1510 - 1515

[Exhib. Cat. Gotha 2015, No. 5]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 74.1 x 27.2 x 0.2 cm (bottom slightly trimmed)

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 74.1 x 27.2 x 0.2 cm (bottom slightly trimmed)

  • [Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Signature / Dating

None

Inscriptions and Labels

Reverse of the panel:

  • label from the Staatl. Museen, Kassel
  • in blue colouring pencil '12'

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Reverse of the panel:

    • label from the Staatl. Museen, Kassel
    • in blue colouring pencil '12'

  • [Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Owner
Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel
Repository
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel
Location
Kassel
CDA ID
DE_MHK_GK13
FR (1978) Nr.
FR031
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MHK_GK13/

Provenance

1827 acquired at the auction of the Campe collection, Leipzig; then it was attached to the All Saints Altar by Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Kassel, GK 30).
[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Exhibitions

Basel 1974, no. 594b
Kassel 2015, no. 5

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel 2015 100, 101 5 Pl. p. 101
EditorJulia Carrasco, Justus Lange, Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha, Benjamin D. Spira, Timo Trümper
TitleBild und Botschaft. Cranach im Dienst von Hof und Reformation, [Gotha, Herzogliches Museum; Kassel, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Schloss Wilhelmshöhe]
Place of PublicationHeidelberg
Year of Publication2015
Show Literature
Heydenreich 2007 A 42, 102, 124, 206, 345, 394
AuthorGunnar Heydenreich
TitleLucas Cranach the Elder
Place of PublicationAmsterdam
Year of Publication2007
Link https://lucascranach.org/application/files/6116/2097/3099/Heydenreich_2007_Lucas_Cranach_the_Elder.pdf
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005 391, 393 Fn. 6 under No. 30
EditorHarald Marx, Karin Kolb, Ingrid Mössinger
TitleCranach Anlässlich der Ausstellung Cranach vom 13. November 2005 bis 12. März 2006 in den Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz. Eine Ausstellung in Kooperation mit der Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Prague 2005 46 (English version 22) under no. 1
EditorObrazárna Pražského hradu, Kaliopi Chamonikola
TitlePod znamením okrídleného hada. Lucas Cranach a ceské zeme. Under the winged Serpent. Lucas Cranach and the Czech Land
Place of PublicationPrague
Year of Publication2005
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1997 59-64
AuthorAnja Schneckenburger-Broschek
EditorStaatliche Museen Kassel
TitleAltdeutsche Malerei. Die Tafelbilder und Altäre des 14. bis 16. Jahrhunderts in der Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister und im Hessischen Landesmuseum Kassel. Bestandskatalog Staatliche Museen Kassel
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication1997
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1996 88
EditorBernhard Schnackenburg
TitleGesamtkatalog Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. Staatliche Museen Kassel
Place of PublicationMainz
Year of Publication1996
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1982 16-17, 56, 62 86
AuthorAnja Schneckenburger-Broschek
TitleDie Altdeutsche Malerei. Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Kassel
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1982
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 031
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Levenson 1978 221
AuthorJ. A. Levenson
TitleJacopo de Barbari and the Northern Art of the Early sixteenth century
Place of PublicationNew York
Year of Publication1978
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976 682 No. 594b
AuthorDieter Koepplin, Tilman Falk
TitleLukas Cranach. Gemälde, Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik
Volume1, 2
Place of PublicationBasel, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1974
Link http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-diglit-104522
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1969 56
AuthorE. Herzog
TitleDie Gemäldegalerie der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Kassel
Place of PublicationHanau
Year of Publication1969
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1958 47 13
AuthorHeinrich Vogel
TitleKatalog der Staatlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Kassel
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1958
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 030
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
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1929 18, 99 13
AuthorK. Luhmer
TitleKatalog der Staatlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Kassel
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1929
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1913 13, 58 13
AuthorG. Gronau
TitleKatalog der Königlichen Gemäldegalerie zu Cassel. Amtliche Ausgabe
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1913
Show Literature
Michaelson 1902 34-35
AuthorHedwig Michaelson
TitleLukas Cranach der Ältere. Untersuchung über die stilistische Entwicklung seiner Kunst
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1902
Show Literature
Flechsig 1900 B 81, 85, 88, 130
AuthorEduard Flechsig
TitleTafelbilder Lucas Cranachs d. Ä. und seiner Werkstatt
Volume1, 2
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1900
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/flechsig1900tafeln
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1888 6 9
AuthorOskar Eisenmann
TitleKatalog der Königlichen Gemälde-Galerie zu Cassel
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1888
Link https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101058641414&view=1up&seq=1
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1877 7 58
AuthorK. Chr. Aubel
TitleVerzeichniß der in dem Lokale der Neuen Gemälde-Gallerie zu Cassel befindlichen Bilder
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1877
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1845 9 58
AuthorK. Chr. Aubel
TitleAuszug aus dem Verzeichnisse der Kurfürstlichen Gemälde-Sammlung
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1845
Show Literature
Cat. Kassel 1819 13 58
AuthorErnst Friedrich Ferdinand Robert
TitleVersuch eines Verzeichnisses der Kurfürstlich Hessischen Gemälde-Sammlung
Place of PublicationKassel
Year of Publication1819
Link https://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/id/PPN879181362?tify=%7B%22pages%22%3A%5B5%5D%2C%22view%22%3A%22info%22%7D
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

The central part of the altar was probably a Virgin and Child, represented either as a sculpture in a shrine or as a painting. A corresponding example of this iconographical constellation within Cranach's work can be found in the depiction of the Virgin on the central panel in Tuscon, Arizona University of Arizona Gallery, which is flanked by Catharine on the left wing panel and Barbara on the right one (Brne, Moravská gálerie v Brne; Friedländer/Rosenberg 1979, No. 46, 47). A reconstruction reveals the central panel must have been c. 74 cm high and c. 46 cm wide. These dimensions almost correspond with those of the Virgin by Cranach in the Fundación Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid (71.5 x 44.2 cm; Friedländer/Rosenberg 1979, No. 30). In addition the Virgin on the central panel was - like the female saints on the wing panels - probably represented against a flat background without landscape details.

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 63-64]

Particular striking on the panels in Kassel is the style of the female saints' haloes, which is very rare in Cranach's oeuvre and suggests a specific request from the commissioner. A further panel depicting the Virgin and the infant St John is similar with regards the dimensions and the rendition of the haloes. [1] This panel is dated about 1512, so that - if they should be related - would require a slightly later dating of the two wing panels. However large discrepancies with regards the painterly quality suggest that the central panel may have been a copy.

[1] oil on wood, 75.9 x 59.4 cm, about 1512, private collection, Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, No. 17

[Lange, Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel 2015, 100]

The infrared reflectogram of the reverse of the panel depicting St Catharine reveals that the figure of the Virgin from an Annunciation scene was originally painted here. On the basis of deduction it may be assumed that the figure of an angel must have adorned the reverse of the other panel. [1] (compare figs. 1 and 2) A panel depicting the angel Gabriel in Dortmund is similar in format and date (about 1515). [2] The less usual composition of the angel appearing to the Virgin from the right also appears in a similar manner on the the external wing panels of an Altarpiece by the Cranach workshop in the village church of Klieken in Sachsen-Anhalt, which is dated about 1515.[3]

[1] Now this panel is only 0.2 cm thick as the painted reverse was separated at some stage before the Campe collection was auctioned. The panel depicting St Catharine is 0.5-0.7 cm thick [Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

[2] Oil on wood, 69 x 27 cm, Dortmund, Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte (Loan from the Federal Republic of Germany)

[3] Cat. Halle 2009, 12-15, the central element consists of a sculptural representation of the Virgin and two assistants.

[Lange, Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel 2015, 100]

[see also MHK online database, accessed 07.12.2020]

Connected Works

St Catherine
  • St Catherine, about 1510
  • DE_MHK_GK12
  • Painting
  • Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel
  • St Barbara, about 1510

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • reverse

Technical studies

1997Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology
  • Infrared reflectography

Support

- limewood acording to a report by Dr. P. Klein, Hamburg (25.02.1988)

- one board, vertical grain

- the original painted verso of the panel was separated with a saw

- the rebate has been trimmed to a width of 0.1 cm to 0.5 cm at the top, right and left, and not preserved at the bottom

- the panel has been trimmed slightly at the bottom

Ground and Imprimatura

- the barbe has been retained in part at the top, right and left edges, but not at the bottom

Underdrawing

- an underdrawing is not visible in the infrared reflectogram

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

  • examined by Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel

Condition Reports

Date1997

  • the sky is slightly abraded in the upper third, remnants of old overpaint (left), an old varnish and probably an original dark glaze; apart from the abrasion and the retouching the panel is in good condition

[Cat. Kassel 1997, 59]

Conservation History

Date1997

  • consolidation of the paint layers

[Curatorial files, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Kassel]

Date1988

  • technical examination and conservation treatment

[Curatorial files, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Kassel]

Date1956

  • conservation treatment after return from Vienna

[Curatorial files, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Kassel]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'St Barbara', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MHK_GK13/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'St Barbara', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_MHK_GK13/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

Help us to improve the Cranach Digital Archive.

Please contact us, if you have noticed a mistake.