Nr
M
PORTRAIT OF A MAN
BY L U C A S C R A N A C H T H E E L D E R
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Originalveröffentlichung in: The bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 3 (1908), S. 87-88
B U L L E T I N OF T H E M E T R O P O L I T A N M U S E U M OF A R T
P O R T R A I T O F A MAN
BY
l . U C A S C R A N A C H T H E E L D E R
L
UCAS C R A N A C H t h e elder has n o t h i t h e r t o been represented in o u r M u s e u m ; with t h e acquisition of t h e P o r t r a i t of a Man one aspect of his art will be seen to a d v a n t a g e . Although Cranach was born in
1472, no certain works by him exist of an earlier d a t e t h a n 1503. In 1505 he was court p a i n t e r to t h e Electors of S a x o n y , Frederick t h e Wise a n d J o h n t h e C o n s t a n t , and t h e rest of his life, passed mostly at W i t t e n b e r g , is i n t i m a t e l y connected with t h e f o r t u n e s of this house.
But, although he certainly executed por
traits at an earlier d a t e , most of t h e works of t h e first two decades of t h e s i x t e e n t h c e n t u r y consist of religious pieces, m y thologies and allegories in which he dis
played his curious naive and odd perver
sity. A f t e r 1520 his p o r t r a i t s b e c a m e more n u m e r o u s and by f a r t h e most im
p o r t a n t p a r t of his o u t p u t . W i t h in
creasing years Cranach lost s o m e t h i n g of t h e gaiety a n d c h a r m of his earlier in
ventions, so t h a t the f a n t a s i a s of this later period, even when they are by him, a n d not t h e p r o d u c t of his crowded atelier, are often labored and lacking in inspira
tion. On t h e c o n t r a r y t h e p o r t r a i t s of this time become increasingly serious and impressive in their u n h e s i t a t i n g direct
ness of characterization.
It is disappointing t h a t so f a r no clue has been f o u n d to t h e sitter for this re
m a r k a b l e p o r t r a i t . In general design it agrees very nearly with t h e p o r t r a i t of Cranach's friend and p r o t e c t o r , J o h a n n Frederich der C r o s s m u t h i g e in t h e Louvre.
Like this, t h a t picture has t h e s a m e crowded composition, the c a p being p a r t l y cut by the t o p of t h e picture and t h e folded hands crowded into t h e b o t t o m corner. T h e portrait is signed and d a t e d
1531. O u r p o r t r a i t , which is stronger in drawing, must belong to a b o u t t h e s a m e period of the artist's career; t h e face in
deed is so similar t h a t at first sight it
might be supposed to be a n o t h e r portrait of t h e s a m e Prince, b u t a careful com
parison with t h e medals in which he is represented m a k e s it clear t h a t this is not so.
In t e c h n i q u e o u r p o r t r a i t is r e m a r k a b l e f o r t h e e x t r a o r d i n a r y perfection of its lacquerlike surface. It is an instance of t h e strong personal bent of C r a n a c h ' s genius t h a t a t a time when Titian was engaged at Charles t h e F i f t h ' s Court, and was there e m p l o y i n g in p o r t r a i t u r e t h e full possibilities of chiaroscuro and broken color, Cranach should t h u s deliberately a d h e r e to earlier convention, or rather, deliberately e l a b o r a t e t h e t e c h n i q u e of painting along opposite lines. For t h e t r e a t m e n t of t h e red lead b a c k g r o u n d and t h e black dress in this p a i n t i n g remind one more of early J a p a n e s e p a i n t i n g or Persian m i n i a t u r e s t h a n of a n y t h i n g in c o n t e m p o r a r y E u r o p e a n a r t . None of t h e great G e r m a n a r t i s t s of this time, not even Diirer himself, ever u n d e r s t o o d clearly t h e pictorial as opposed to t h e d r a u g h t s m a n ' s vision of n a t u r e , a n d one
m a y praise Cranach in t h a t here there is no c o m p r o m i s e between t h e two ideals, and t h e q u a l i t y a n d b e a u t y of t h e paint h a v e been w r o u g h t to t h e highest perfection of surface, b u t a r e as expression entirely s u b o r d i n a t e to t h e linear design.
As a p o r t r a i t p a i n t e r Cranach was n o t p e r h a p s p r o f o u n d l y psychological, b u t he rendered t h e e x t e r n a l c h a r a c t e r i s tics of his sitters with masterly assurance.
Doctor W o e r m a n n in his article* on t h e Cranach Exhibition of 1899 at Dresden, s a y s : " I t would be too m u c h to say t h a t C r a n a c h ' s best p o r t r a i t s are on a level with t h e best of Diirer and Holbein. Hut the interval is not wide t h a t divided them f r o m the works of these m a s t e r s . "
The p o r t r a i t now in t h e Museum lacks b o t h d a t e a n d C r a n a c h ' s usual s i g n a t u r e of a c r o w n e d serpent with b a t ' s wings
It comes f r o m t h e collection of Count Wilczek, b u t no previous history of '£
has y e t been t r a c e d .
R. F. F.
*Zeitscbri/t jiir Bildtnde Kumt. Vol. XI.
88
