Lucas CRANACH (1472-1553)
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Ancient Germany Cats
Chronology : 1520-1529 1530-1539 1540-1569
See also : Ancient Germany Cats
Chronology : 1520-1529 1530-1539 1540-1569
1510 Lucretia
2012 SOLD for $ 5.1M by Sotheby's
After the quattrocento, the woman is a major theme in art, gradually away from the strict Christian interpretation. Dürer opposes Eve and Lucretia. In his diptych of Adam and Eve painted in 1507, the sinner is kind, confident in her apple and her snake. In a drawing by the same artist dated 1508, Lucretia expresses her suffering after having stabbed the dagger. Both are naked, standing in a similar attitude.
Not far from Nürnberg, Lucas Cranach is necessarily influenced by Dürer with whom he competes for commissions. He is working since 1504 at the Saxon court in Wittenberg.
Cranach's vision of Lucretia follows Dürer as he is interested in her suicide instead of the rape. With a portrait quality that matches Dürer's art, Cranach imagines the very beginning of the mortal action, when the exemplary virtue has not been cancelled by the physical pain.
Lucretia is not Eve. In Livy's story, she is a totally innocent victim who reacts in an admirable action. The Lucretia of Livy opens the way for the Republic which annihilates the tyranny. Cranach's Lucretia opens the way for the reformation of the mores by Luther.
Lucretia is the perfect synthesis of two opposite qualities designed to bring the best of the virtuosity of Cranach. She must be physically erotic, as her beauty has fueled the frenzy of the king's son. She must also be psychologically pure, since she could not survive the stain.
The first two representations of Lucretia's suicide by Cranach are oils on wood of the same size and composition, 60 x 49 cm and 60 x 47 cm, and showing the same seater. She is plump for being desirable by the son of the king, with sumptuous clothes and jewels which assess that her aristocratic affiliation was ineffective to avoid the drama.
The earlier painting has a terminus ante quem at 1511 linked to a parqueted preparation of its lime wood support, a short lived technique that was no longer proposed after that date. The gaze is straight but resigned.
On image side, it is a very neat portrait with a flexible line, which anticipates the commercial versions executed on order. The heroine has a sad and resigned face at the precise moment when she drives the tip of the knife to her bare breast and when the first drop of blood flows almost imperceptibly. The tip of the blade reaches the skin just at the edge of the coat as if the woman still wanted to hide her act.
It was sold for $ 5.1M by Sotheby's on January 26, 2012. from a lower estimate of $ 4M, lot 34. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The second painting brings subtle changes of attitude more in line with the heroic purpose of the allegory. The hand holding the dagger is firm. The tip of the blade under the bare breasts becomes the focus of the composition. The expression of the face is determined. Its terminus ante quem is 1514 based on a workshop copy that has been dated. It was sold for $ 2.9M by Sotheby's on February 1, 2018, lot 10.
Compared to these two paintings whose intense psychology follows Dürer and anticipates Titian, the many Lucretia later painted by Cranach are commercial works where the poor Roman heroine looks more and more like his Venus.
Luther enters history in 1517. One can imagine that he was sensitive to the approach of this painter who glorified the virtues without referencing to the saints. Cranach became the best artist of the first generation of Lutheran reformers.
Not far from Nürnberg, Lucas Cranach is necessarily influenced by Dürer with whom he competes for commissions. He is working since 1504 at the Saxon court in Wittenberg.
Cranach's vision of Lucretia follows Dürer as he is interested in her suicide instead of the rape. With a portrait quality that matches Dürer's art, Cranach imagines the very beginning of the mortal action, when the exemplary virtue has not been cancelled by the physical pain.
Lucretia is not Eve. In Livy's story, she is a totally innocent victim who reacts in an admirable action. The Lucretia of Livy opens the way for the Republic which annihilates the tyranny. Cranach's Lucretia opens the way for the reformation of the mores by Luther.
Lucretia is the perfect synthesis of two opposite qualities designed to bring the best of the virtuosity of Cranach. She must be physically erotic, as her beauty has fueled the frenzy of the king's son. She must also be psychologically pure, since she could not survive the stain.
The first two representations of Lucretia's suicide by Cranach are oils on wood of the same size and composition, 60 x 49 cm and 60 x 47 cm, and showing the same seater. She is plump for being desirable by the son of the king, with sumptuous clothes and jewels which assess that her aristocratic affiliation was ineffective to avoid the drama.
The earlier painting has a terminus ante quem at 1511 linked to a parqueted preparation of its lime wood support, a short lived technique that was no longer proposed after that date. The gaze is straight but resigned.
On image side, it is a very neat portrait with a flexible line, which anticipates the commercial versions executed on order. The heroine has a sad and resigned face at the precise moment when she drives the tip of the knife to her bare breast and when the first drop of blood flows almost imperceptibly. The tip of the blade reaches the skin just at the edge of the coat as if the woman still wanted to hide her act.
It was sold for $ 5.1M by Sotheby's on January 26, 2012. from a lower estimate of $ 4M, lot 34. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The second painting brings subtle changes of attitude more in line with the heroic purpose of the allegory. The hand holding the dagger is firm. The tip of the blade under the bare breasts becomes the focus of the composition. The expression of the face is determined. Its terminus ante quem is 1514 based on a workshop copy that has been dated. It was sold for $ 2.9M by Sotheby's on February 1, 2018, lot 10.
Compared to these two paintings whose intense psychology follows Dürer and anticipates Titian, the many Lucretia later painted by Cranach are commercial works where the poor Roman heroine looks more and more like his Venus.
Luther enters history in 1517. One can imagine that he was sensitive to the approach of this painter who glorified the virtues without referencing to the saints. Cranach became the best artist of the first generation of Lutheran reformers.
1511 Saxon Altarpiece
2012 SOLD for £ 4.3M by Sotheby's
On July 4, 2012, Sotheby's sold for £ 4.3M a set of five oil paintings assembled into a folding triptych, lot 7. The origin is known: these paintings were done shortly after the death in 1511 of a wealthy Saxon named Jobst von Feilitzsch to adorn the altar of his private chapel, and were kept in the family during four centuries and a half.
The central panel, 88 x 72 cm, shows St. Anne with the Virgin and Child. The external and internal panels of the wings, 91 x 33 cm, are showing saints along with a postmortem portrait of the donor.
These portraits are beautiful. All these characters have a strong psychological dimension, as they were made by a master painter Lucas Cranach himself, perhaps without the participation of his studio. At that time, the master had doubtless already assimilated the influence of Raphael.
The arrangement of these five works in a folding triptych seems natural, yet it is unclear what was the original presentation. In the seventeenth century, they had been reframed as a single row. It is remarkable that they were never separated.
Please watch the video in which Sotheby's has grouped this lot with a painting by Hans Baldung Grien, sold for £ 2.1M. The images of the five panels are shared by Wikimedia.
The set was later separated. The internal wings of the altarpiece have been sold together for $ 1.22M by Sotheby's on January 29, 2020, lot 5.
The central panel, 88 x 72 cm, shows St. Anne with the Virgin and Child. The external and internal panels of the wings, 91 x 33 cm, are showing saints along with a postmortem portrait of the donor.
These portraits are beautiful. All these characters have a strong psychological dimension, as they were made by a master painter Lucas Cranach himself, perhaps without the participation of his studio. At that time, the master had doubtless already assimilated the influence of Raphael.
The arrangement of these five works in a folding triptych seems natural, yet it is unclear what was the original presentation. In the seventeenth century, they had been reframed as a single row. It is remarkable that they were never separated.
Please watch the video in which Sotheby's has grouped this lot with a painting by Hans Baldung Grien, sold for £ 2.1M. The images of the five panels are shared by Wikimedia.
The set was later separated. The internal wings of the altarpiece have been sold together for $ 1.22M by Sotheby's on January 29, 2020, lot 5.
.jpg)
.jpg)
1527 Sibylle of Cleves
2008 SOLD for $ 7.7M by Christie's
The reigning dynasties of Germany position themselves in relation to Luther's new faith. The Elector Friedrich III of Saxony managed to maintain equality between the parties. His brother Johann, who succeeded him in 1525, promoted Lutheranism to the rank of state church. Duke Johann III of Cleves annexed by his marriage the duchies of Jülich and Berg. He was a protector of Erasmus.
A marriage seals the alliance between these two dynasties. The engagement was celebrated in September 1526. Johann Friedrich, 23, the eldest son of the elector of Saxony, was one of Luther's most ardent supporters. Sibylle, 14, is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Cleves. The marriage took place in June 1527.
Cranach has been a court painter for the Saxon Electors in Wittenberg since 1504. Much linked to Luther, he was in 1525 the godfather of his first child.
Two portraits by Cranach of Sibylle during the engagement phase are known. She wears the crown of virgins which guarantees her virtue until her marriage. She is standing in three quarter length, her hands gently joined on the waist. The face is still juvenile. The 57 x 39 cm painting kept at Weimar Castle is dated 1526.
The other painting is an oil on panel 53 x 38 cm. The lively gaze and the smile display a better presence. The symbols of the two families are woven within the dress. It is signed by the serpent, used by Cranach instead of a monogram for his official paintings.
The portrait of Sibylle of Cleves was sold for $ 7.7M by Christie's on April 15, 2008, lot 12. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A marriage seals the alliance between these two dynasties. The engagement was celebrated in September 1526. Johann Friedrich, 23, the eldest son of the elector of Saxony, was one of Luther's most ardent supporters. Sibylle, 14, is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Cleves. The marriage took place in June 1527.
Cranach has been a court painter for the Saxon Electors in Wittenberg since 1504. Much linked to Luther, he was in 1525 the godfather of his first child.
Two portraits by Cranach of Sibylle during the engagement phase are known. She wears the crown of virgins which guarantees her virtue until her marriage. She is standing in three quarter length, her hands gently joined on the waist. The face is still juvenile. The 57 x 39 cm painting kept at Weimar Castle is dated 1526.
The other painting is an oil on panel 53 x 38 cm. The lively gaze and the smile display a better presence. The symbols of the two families are woven within the dress. It is signed by the serpent, used by Cranach instead of a monogram for his official paintings.
The portrait of Sibylle of Cleves was sold for $ 7.7M by Christie's on April 15, 2008, lot 12. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
mid 1520s St. Barbara
2006 SOLD for $ 4.9M by Christie's
On April 6, 2006, Christie's sold for $ 4.9M from a lower estimate of $ 1.5M a St. Barbara by Cranach, lot 14.
This undated oil on panel 73 x 56 cm is signed with the serpent device of the artist. It features the same very young woman as the 1528 Lady with grapes and apples sold in 2008 by Sotheby's and was certainly made in the same period.
The widely popular Christian virgin martyr is featured as a saint as evidenced by her sad gaze and the chalice in her left hand. The right hand is on the breast as a gesture of sincerity. The long blonde hair covers the shoulders down to the elbows. She is surrounded by a rocky wooded landscape.
She has no halo. Cranach was a close friend of Luther. In 1530 the Augsburg Confession condemned the invocation of saints while commending their commemoration and veneration. Luther was a strong opponent to the iconoclasm of Zwingli.
This undated oil on panel 73 x 56 cm is signed with the serpent device of the artist. It features the same very young woman as the 1528 Lady with grapes and apples sold in 2008 by Sotheby's and was certainly made in the same period.
The widely popular Christian virgin martyr is featured as a saint as evidenced by her sad gaze and the chalice in her left hand. The right hand is on the breast as a gesture of sincerity. The long blonde hair covers the shoulders down to the elbows. She is surrounded by a rocky wooded landscape.
She has no halo. Cranach was a close friend of Luther. In 1530 the Augsburg Confession condemned the invocation of saints while commending their commemoration and veneration. Luther was a strong opponent to the iconoclasm of Zwingli.
1528 Young Lady holding Grapes and Apples
2008 SOLD for $ 5.1M by Sotheby's
Lucas Cranach managed to offer his ideal of beauty by depicting very young women in three quarter length. The same figure may be secular or religious and they are not real portraits. The slightly turned head is round with flat cheeks and almond eyes. They are richly dressed, with lavish jewelry.
On January 24, 2008, Sotheby's sold for $ 5.1M an oil on panel transferred on canvas 82 x 55 cm, lot 30. It is signed with the winged serpent of the artist and dated 1528.
The young lady is holding grapes and apples in her apron. The hair tight enclosed in a net is surmounted by an extremely large plumed hat. The embroidered dress includes velvet and satin in vibrant colors. The landscape behind her displays a church perched on a rock and prominent churches in the valley.
On January 24, 2008, Sotheby's sold for $ 5.1M an oil on panel transferred on canvas 82 x 55 cm, lot 30. It is signed with the winged serpent of the artist and dated 1528.
The young lady is holding grapes and apples in her apron. The hair tight enclosed in a net is surmounted by an extremely large plumed hat. The embroidered dress includes velvet and satin in vibrant colors. The landscape behind her displays a church perched on a rock and prominent churches in the valley.
later 1520s Bocca della Verita
2015 SOLD for £ 9.3M by Sotheby's
Lucas Cranach enjoyed all topics related to morality, not without humor. On July 8, 2015, Sotheby's sold for £ 9.3M from a lower estimate of £ 6M a Bocca della Verita painted at the end of the 1520s. This oil on panel in large size, 111 x 100 cm, is estimated £ 6M, lot 8.
The artist transposes a medieval ordeal with characters in clothes of his time. The mouth of truth is a lie detecting test to convict or release the adulteress. Included in the legends of Tristan and Iseult and Merlin, this story was previously used by illustrators including Altdorfer and Lucas van Leyden.
Each character has a role. The woman puts a hand in the mouth of the lion raised on a pedestal to be at her level. She is held at the waist by her supposed lover disguised as a fool. Two men wait to establish the minutes of justice.
The alleged cuckolded husband is on the far right of the picture, opposite to the lion. He is accompanied by two lovely ladies who are his witnesses. At his side, a last character sends a wink of complicity towards the viewer of the painting.
This is not a comic book and the verdict of the lion is not known. The lack of fear in the attitude of the woman tells that she wants to win the ordeal. The scene becomes a funny symbol of feminine cunning.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's :
The artist transposes a medieval ordeal with characters in clothes of his time. The mouth of truth is a lie detecting test to convict or release the adulteress. Included in the legends of Tristan and Iseult and Merlin, this story was previously used by illustrators including Altdorfer and Lucas van Leyden.
Each character has a role. The woman puts a hand in the mouth of the lion raised on a pedestal to be at her level. She is held at the waist by her supposed lover disguised as a fool. Two men wait to establish the minutes of justice.
The alleged cuckolded husband is on the far right of the picture, opposite to the lion. He is accompanied by two lovely ladies who are his witnesses. At his side, a last character sends a wink of complicity towards the viewer of the painting.
This is not a comic book and the verdict of the lion is not known. The lack of fear in the attitude of the woman tells that she wants to win the ordeal. The scene becomes a funny symbol of feminine cunning.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's :
1525-1537 Lucretia
2020 SOLD for $ 5.1M by Christie's
Around 1510 the first takings of Cranach with the myth of Lucretia were displaying a desperate princess in lavish dress and jewelry.
Cranach became an early supporter of the reform, started in 1517 in Wittemberg where he resided and worked while his patron the Saxon Elector was also a pro-Lutheran.
The political dimension of Lucretia's story as told by Livy became obvious at that time. Lucretia's rape by a royal Tarquinius prince had immediately triggered the fall of the Roman monarchy engineered by her acquaintance Brutus. The rise of Lutheranism could indeed be viewed as a similar upheaval.
Cranach made many paintings of Lucretia, most of them with the support of his workshop. More than forty are surviving, They are not mere replicas. The woman is always staged alone at the very moment when she enters her dagger in her breast. More or less in nudity, she is now the republican heroin, without the lavish attire of the pre-Lutheran versions.
An oil on panel transferred to board 61 x 41 cm was sold for $ 5.1M from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on October 15, 2020, lot 11. The desperate woman clasps her hands around the pommel while her fur-lined robe has dropped to her waist. That position of the hands of the pagan Lucretia is evoking a prayer by a Christian martyr virgin while the nudity reminds a Venus..
This painting is compromised by old surface losses and discolored reworks but the quality of the brushwork let consider that it is an autograph work by Cranach, typical of his best works between mid 1520s and mid 1530s. The terminus ante quem is 1537 when he lowered the wings of his signature's serpent.
Cranach became an early supporter of the reform, started in 1517 in Wittemberg where he resided and worked while his patron the Saxon Elector was also a pro-Lutheran.
The political dimension of Lucretia's story as told by Livy became obvious at that time. Lucretia's rape by a royal Tarquinius prince had immediately triggered the fall of the Roman monarchy engineered by her acquaintance Brutus. The rise of Lutheranism could indeed be viewed as a similar upheaval.
Cranach made many paintings of Lucretia, most of them with the support of his workshop. More than forty are surviving, They are not mere replicas. The woman is always staged alone at the very moment when she enters her dagger in her breast. More or less in nudity, she is now the republican heroin, without the lavish attire of the pre-Lutheran versions.
An oil on panel transferred to board 61 x 41 cm was sold for $ 5.1M from a lower estimate of $ 1M by Christie's on October 15, 2020, lot 11. The desperate woman clasps her hands around the pommel while her fur-lined robe has dropped to her waist. That position of the hands of the pagan Lucretia is evoking a prayer by a Christian martyr virgin while the nudity reminds a Venus..
This painting is compromised by old surface losses and discolored reworks but the quality of the brushwork let consider that it is an autograph work by Cranach, typical of his best works between mid 1520s and mid 1530s. The terminus ante quem is 1537 when he lowered the wings of his signature's serpent.
1530 Phyllis and Aristotle
2008 SOLD for $ 4.1M by Sotheby's
The ridicule theme of the ill matched couple of old man and young woman was naturally appealing Cranach in his quest of moralizing images. He was also looking for pagan themes and the 13th century courtly tale of the humiliation of Aristotle by Phyllis suited that quest.
The philosopher was a major and respected learned figure and the tutor of Alexander. All man has his spiritual and physical vulnerability. The old man behaves as a fool crawling on hands and knees and ridden for some revenge by an insolent young woman. In the end Aristotle turns to misogyny and meditates on the wickedness of women.
Phyllis and Aristotle, oil on panel 55 x 35 cm painted in 1530, was sold for $ 4.1M from a lower estimate of $ 2.5M by Sotheby's on January 25, 2008, lot 78. The image is shared by Wikimedia. This painting appears to be the only surviving panel by Cranach of this subject. It had possibly been commissioned by a customer.
Both characters are elegantly dressed. The man looks at his tormenter whose direct gaze appeals the viewer of the picture. The humiliating position is moralizing and not erotic. The scene is staged in a landscape with a medieval castle on the horizon.
The philosopher was a major and respected learned figure and the tutor of Alexander. All man has his spiritual and physical vulnerability. The old man behaves as a fool crawling on hands and knees and ridden for some revenge by an insolent young woman. In the end Aristotle turns to misogyny and meditates on the wickedness of women.
Phyllis and Aristotle, oil on panel 55 x 35 cm painted in 1530, was sold for $ 4.1M from a lower estimate of $ 2.5M by Sotheby's on January 25, 2008, lot 78. The image is shared by Wikimedia. This painting appears to be the only surviving panel by Cranach of this subject. It had possibly been commissioned by a customer.
Both characters are elegantly dressed. The man looks at his tormenter whose direct gaze appeals the viewer of the picture. The humiliating position is moralizing and not erotic. The scene is staged in a landscape with a medieval castle on the horizon.
.jpg)
1532 The Elector of Saxony
2018 SOLD for $ 7.7M by Christie's
Lucas Cranach becomes in 1504 a painter at the court of Saxony in Wittenberg. He will be until his death 49 years later a devoted collaborator of three successive Electors, ultimately joining the displacement to Weimar of the court of the last of them. He made many portraits of the electoral family without abandoning his other themes.
The first of his three Saxon patrons, Friedrich the Wise, is famous for his tolerance concerning Luther. Cranach is enthusiastic about the Reformation and then becomes a close friend of Luther.
The family events of the Saxon court are celebrated with half-length portraits in resplendent attire. In 1525 Friedrich is succeeded by his brother Johann who intensifies his pro-Lutheran policy. In the following year he manages the engagement of his son and heir Johann-Friedrich with Sibylle of Cleves. The wedding takes place in 1527. Cranach's portrait of the then 15-year-old princess was sold for $ 7.7M by Christie's on April 15, 2008.
Johann-Friedrich succeeds Johann in 1532 and confirms his commitment to the Reformation. He commissions Cranach and his workshop for a large quantity of posthumous portraits of his two predecessors to serve as diplomatic gifts.
On April 19, 2018, Christie's sold for $ 7.7M from a lower estimate of $ 1M a portrait of Johann-Friedrich, oil on panel 63 x 40 cm, lot 7. The painting is neither dated nor signed and an underdrawing reveals that some details of the face were modified for perfecting the likeness or the dignity. It is probably a modello painted by the master after the accession to power of the new Elector to prepare the realization of copies by the workshop.
This artwork disappeared during the Nazi persecutions. It has just resurfaced and was restituted to the spoiled family with the support of Christie's.
Please watch the video shared by auction house (full video below the video tweet, including a portrait of Alessandro Farnese by another artist, sold for $ 2.6M.
The first of his three Saxon patrons, Friedrich the Wise, is famous for his tolerance concerning Luther. Cranach is enthusiastic about the Reformation and then becomes a close friend of Luther.
The family events of the Saxon court are celebrated with half-length portraits in resplendent attire. In 1525 Friedrich is succeeded by his brother Johann who intensifies his pro-Lutheran policy. In the following year he manages the engagement of his son and heir Johann-Friedrich with Sibylle of Cleves. The wedding takes place in 1527. Cranach's portrait of the then 15-year-old princess was sold for $ 7.7M by Christie's on April 15, 2008.
Johann-Friedrich succeeds Johann in 1532 and confirms his commitment to the Reformation. He commissions Cranach and his workshop for a large quantity of posthumous portraits of his two predecessors to serve as diplomatic gifts.
On April 19, 2018, Christie's sold for $ 7.7M from a lower estimate of $ 1M a portrait of Johann-Friedrich, oil on panel 63 x 40 cm, lot 7. The painting is neither dated nor signed and an underdrawing reveals that some details of the face were modified for perfecting the likeness or the dignity. It is probably a modello painted by the master after the accession to power of the new Elector to prepare the realization of copies by the workshop.
This artwork disappeared during the Nazi persecutions. It has just resurfaced and was restituted to the spoiled family with the support of Christie's.
Please watch the video shared by auction house (full video below the video tweet, including a portrait of Alessandro Farnese by another artist, sold for $ 2.6M.
Dressed to impress: this opulent portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder depicts John Frederick I, the final Elector of Saxony, in the most stylish clothes of the decade.https://t.co/nrSbZ9wZbG pic.twitter.com/Gzoh1FTVRC
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) April 15, 2018
1540-1545 Fontis Nympha
2022 SOLD for £ 9.4M by Christie's
The Nymph of the spring by Cranach is both a proverb and an excuse for displaying a recumbent female nude. Twelve examples are known with variants in the position of the woman and in the landscape behind her. The elongated body is typical of the cannon of cute beauty practiced by the master.
The proverb is a poem previously used by Dürer in a more extended version. It reads in a cartouche : FONTIS NYMPHA SACRI SOMNVM NE RVMPE QVIESCO (do not break the serenity of the Nymph of the Sacred Spring in her sleep).
It is indeed not an erotic invite but a Lutheran warning against the vanity of pleasure. A close inspection shows that the lower body is not nude but covered by a scarcely visible veil. A pair of pecking partridges, a quiver of arrows and the rich necklace are the threats of the sexual temptation.
On June 7, 2022, Christie's sold a Nymph for £ 9.4M from a lower estimate of £ 6M, lot 6. This oil on panel 82 x 120 cm in beautiful preservation is announced as the largest example known. It is dated 1540-1545 in consistence with the monogram of the winged serpent used from 1537.
It had resurfaced in 1990 and a provenance tentatively including the emperor Rudolf II and queen Christina of Sweden has been proposed.
Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
The proverb is a poem previously used by Dürer in a more extended version. It reads in a cartouche : FONTIS NYMPHA SACRI SOMNVM NE RVMPE QVIESCO (do not break the serenity of the Nymph of the Sacred Spring in her sleep).
It is indeed not an erotic invite but a Lutheran warning against the vanity of pleasure. A close inspection shows that the lower body is not nude but covered by a scarcely visible veil. A pair of pecking partridges, a quiver of arrows and the rich necklace are the threats of the sexual temptation.
On June 7, 2022, Christie's sold a Nymph for £ 9.4M from a lower estimate of £ 6M, lot 6. This oil on panel 82 x 120 cm in beautiful preservation is announced as the largest example known. It is dated 1540-1545 in consistence with the monogram of the winged serpent used from 1537.
It had resurfaced in 1990 and a provenance tentatively including the emperor Rudolf II and queen Christina of Sweden has been proposed.
Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
#AuctionUpdate Lucas Cranach The Elder’s (1472-1553) 'The Nymph of the Spring' from The Collection of Cecil & Hilda Lewis sells above estimate for £9,449,500. pic.twitter.com/telMa3VeVJ
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) July 7, 2022
