Anton Heusler born circa 1500, active in Annaberg, Sachsen 1525-1561

Oskar Berl, Vienna;
His sale, Vienna, Dorotheum, 14-16 May 1934, lot 112 (as Monogrammist A.G.);
With A.S. Drey, Munich;
Sold, Berlin, Paul Graupe, 17th-18th June 1936, lot 52 (as Monogrammist A.G.);
Valentin Mayring, Hollfeld bei Beyreuth, from whom acquired in exchange in 1947 by
The Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, inv. Gm 1462;
Restituted to the successors of A.S. Drey in 2007.

O. Benesch, `Die Tafelmalerei des 1.Drittel des 16.Jahrhunderts in Österreich', in Die bildende Kunst in Österreich, vol. 3, Götische Zeit..., Baden 1938, p. 142 & note 8;
Germanisches Nationalmuseum.  Jahresbericht 93, 1948, pp. 12-14, 16, reproduced plate 4;
F. Thieme & U. Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler..., vol. 37, Leipzig 1950, p. 373;
W. Brücker, Conrad Faber von Creuznach, Frankfurt-am-Main 1963, p. 132, note 238;
Germanisches Nationalmuseum: Führer durch die Sammlungen, Munich 1977 & 1980, no. 202; 1985 & 1994, no. 188;
K. Löcher, `Bildnisse des 16.bis 18.Jahrnunderts. Person und Persönlichkeit', in Schatzhaus 1982, p. 538;
K. Löcher, `Bildnismalerei des späten Mittelalters und der Renaissance in Deutschland', in Altdeutsche Bilder der Sammlung Georg Schäfer, exhibition catalogue, Schweinfurt p. 45;
J. Zander-Seidel, `Textiler Hausrat, Kleidung und Haustextilien in Nürnberg von 1500-1650', in Kunstwissenschaftliche Studien, vol. 59, Munich 1990, pp. 262-3, reproduced fig. 238;
I. Sandner, Spätgothische-Tafelmalerei in Sachsen, Dresden/Basel 1993, p. 243;
K. Löcher, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg, Die Gemälde des 16.Jahrhunderts, Nuremberg 1997, pp. 260-1, reproduced in colour.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The lime wood panel is cradled and there is evidence of previous worm damage. There is a repaired central join, which is vulnerable and minor vertical splits to the bottom edge. Some of the worm holes have come through to the paint surface and have been retouched out. There is a thin abraded paint layer in the sky and the middle ground and there is evidence of discoloured retouching here. The varnish is discoloured and opaque, particularly over the sitter's tunic where thinnesses to the paint layer can be seen."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Little is known about the life of Anton Heusler, although he was probably born in Leipzig and in 1525 he is recorded as having bought a house in Annaberg. The present sitter can be identified as a bridegroom by the flower he holds and his Brauthemd embroidered bridal shirt, and this picture can be compared in terms of both style and compositional format to another Portrait of a bridegroom by Anton Heusler, signed and dated 1534, in Leipzig, Museum of Fine Arts, inv. no. 947¹. Both of these portraits are clearly influenced by the work of Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553).

1. see Löcher, 1997, under Literature.