Studio of Lucas Cranach the Elder

A. von Kolasinski, Warsaw;
His sale, Berlin, Rudolph Lepke, June 5, 1917, lot 25 (as Lucas Cranach the Elder);
Anonymous sale, Dusseldorf, Galerie Hugo Helbing (in association with Galerie Alfred Flechtheim and Galerie Georg Paffrath), March 11, 1933, lot 23 (as Lucas Cranach the Elder);
Mrs. Edith R. Bennett;
By whose Estate (anonymously) sold, New York, Sotheby's, April 7, 1966, lot 16 (as Lucas Cranach the Elder);
There purchased by the present owner. 

Dallas, Texas, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, on loan 1951-1966;
Dallas, Texas, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Especially Assembled for the State Fair of Texas, Four Centuries of European Painting, 1951, cat. no. 46 (as Lucas Cranach the Elder).

Dallas Morning News, "Museum Gets Unexhibited Paintings," April 4, 1951 (as Lucas Cranach the Elder);
Dallas Morning News, "Four Centuries of Painting in Museum's Fair Exhibit," September 21, 1951(as Lucas Cranach the Elder);
Dallas Morning News, "Old Master Exhibition Extended," October 28, 1951, reproduced (as Lucas Cranach the Elder).

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The inscription at the top of this picture has been tested and has been found to be all original. The cracking that is seen throughout this painting is all in the varnish, which is obviously not period. The horizontal flaking that one sees here and there is also in the varnish only. The panel has cracked successively over the years and there are half a dozen brakes which were corrected when the panel was remounted onto a contemporary panel. This picture requires a serious conservation effort, particularly in cleaning the paint layer and removing old varnish and restorations. When this is done, needless to say restorations will be removed across half a dozen breaks and in other areas in the panel. However, the speculation may be worse than the reality and although there may be thinness and restoration to address in other areas apart from the breaks in the panel, this is a worthwhile endeavor which will produce good results.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The subject of Hercules and Omphale was painted by Cranach the Elder in several versions of differing composition.  This painting appears to be the prime version of this particular composition in which one of Omphale's maidens is depicted resting her hand on Hercules' head which has been adorned with a woman's cap.¹  It has been suggested that the present version could be a work by Lucas Cranach the Elder and, dated 1531, would be his earliest known treatment of the Hercules and Omphale theme.  It has also been suggested that it could be an early work by his son, Hans Cranach (Wittenberg circa 1513-1537 Bologna).

The story relates how Hercules, in punishment for murdering his friend Phitus in a fit of madness, was sold into slavery for three years to Omphale, queen of Lydia.  While in her service, he was humiliated by being dressed in women's clothes and being made to peform women's work, such as spinning yarn.  Omphale and Hercules eventually became lovers (in some versions they marry) and she had a son by him. 

The subject of Hercules and Omphale was a prime pictorial example of the theme of Weibermacht or the 'Power of Woman' that was particularly popular in the late Middle Ages, and one that Cranach seems to have delighted in portraying.  Another rendering of this concept by Cranach the Elder is seen in his 1530 depiction of Phyllis and Aristotle offered in the present sale (see lot 78).

 

1  Two other versions of this composition are known: one, formerly in the Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul, Minnesota, was sold, New York, Sotheby Parke-Bernet, June 16, 1976, lot 99, as Studio of Lucas Cranach the Elder; the second was sold, Cologne, Lempertz, November, 1966, lot 27, and was with Fischer Gallery, Lucerne in December, 1967.