Lucas Cranach the Younger

In the collection of the present owner for at least the last two generations.

The panel is comprised of a single piece of wood, which is flat, stable, and un-beveled. The verso of the panel has three vertical strips of wood applied for reinforcment. Some older discolored retouches are visible to the naked eye along the torso of Christ. UV light confirms these retouches, and reveals a few others along the left shoulder. An older varnish masks a few slightly perceptible retouches in the red drapery of Saint John, though there do appear to be a few scattered. Though the figure of the Virgin has a discolored varnish mostly perceptible along the edges of her drapery, she does not appear to have many retouches and would probably clean well.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This intense, emotional depiction of Christ as a Man of Sorrows is an exciting new addition to the oeuvre of Lucas Cranach the Younger.  The design, with Christ flanked by the Virgin on one side and Saint John the Evangelist on the other, originated with Lucas Cranach the Elder and was adapted at least three times by his son.  The earliest manifestation of this type is the 1524 panel in the Augustiner Museum, Freiburg im Breisgau.¹  Here Lucas Cranach the Elder depicts a landscape with a three-quarter length seated Christ in his tomb flanked by the Virgin and Saint John with a host of cherubs in the sky.  The figures are close to the pictoral plane with the tortured body of Christ clearly on display, but overall the landscape setting serves to soften the portrayal of Christ as a Man of Sorrows.  In his second interpretation of this theme, executed ten years later, Cranach the Elder removed the landscape setting thus heightening the emotional impact of the composition. There are, however, a host of cherubs with the attributes of the cross in a frieze like formation at the top of the painting which visually draws the eye away from the central figures.² 

Lucas Cranach the Younger's first experimentation with this composition, known through versions in the Vatican and the collection of the Historical Society in Regensburg,³ are close to his father's 1534 composition although the figures are brought even closer to the pictorial plane and the frieze of angels is reduced to a few small praying cherubs in each corner.  Thus Christ's bruised and broken body becomes more of a feature standing out against the dramatic dark background.  The present composition is clearly closely related to this version but it comes closest both compositionally and stylistically to the latest published version by Cranach the Younger in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg, dated to circa 1540.⁴  As in the present work Christ is seated on the just visible edge of his tomb, his hands loosely folded across his lap, his face a tortured expression of woe and his crucified body torn and bleeding.  Mary and St. John are depicted just behind with the former weeping into her robe and the latter with his hands clasped in prayer.  Apart from the edge of the tomb the background is one of unrelieved darkness and the angels featured in the previous compositions have now disappeared. 

Lucas Cranach the Younger took charge of his father's flourishing workshop in 1550 when his father left Wittenberg to join the elector of Saxony John Frederick in Augsburg and fully assumed charge in 1553 with his father's death.  By this point Cranach the Younger and the many workshop assistants were adept at replicating the Elder's compositions based on the numerous studies, drawings and paintings he left.  Thus there is much debate over exactly which paintings can be attributed to Cranach the Younger and which were produced by the workshop. The present painting is no exception and whilst we are grateful to Dr. Dieter Koepplin for confirming the attribution to Lucas Cranach the Younger, on the basis of photographs Dr. Werner Schade believes this to be a workshop product.

1. See M.J. Friedländer and J. Rosenberg, The Paintings of Lucas Cranach, London 1978, p. 101, no. 156.
2. Ibid., pp. 112-3, no. 219.
3. Ibid., p. 146, no. 383.
4. Ibid., p. 146, no. 384.