Lucas Cranach the Younger

Jean Dollfus (1823–1911), Paris;
His deceased sale, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, 1-2 April 1912, lot 3, reproduced;
Howard Parmelee Eells (1855-1919), Cleveland and Pasadena;
By inheritence to his widow, Maud Stager Eells, Cleveland;
Thence by descent to the present owners.

Paris, Louvre, Exposition de tableaux, statues et objets d'art au profit de l'Oeuvre des orphelins d'Alsace-Lorraine, 1885, no. 89, reproduced.

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. This painting has probably not been restored recently. The panel is cradled and flat. The paint layer is stable. The bottom 2 inches of the work may not be original since there is clearly an addition across the bottom edge. The painting however, does not appear to be particularly dirty and cleaning is not recommended at this time. Retouches are clearly visible under ultraviolet light across the bottom edge to address the addition here. There are also retouches that address losses in the coat, particularly on the left side. Some fairly significant losses have been restored across the top in the background and an original vertical join running through the nose and right side of the face has also received restoration as well. The painting is quite extensively restored in some areas and if these restorations were adjusted slightly the work could be hung in its current condition.
"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."

The clarity of structure and handling distinguish this striking portrait as an autograph work by Lucas Cranach the Younger.   Indeed, it is in the field of portraiture that Cranach the Younger most sets himself apart from the works of his father and the older generation of artists.  Beginning in the 1540s he forges a style in which clearly articulated features are more fully integrated into the composition as whole.  However, he retains an extraordinary refinement of touch, most notable here in the delicate patterning of the lace beneath the sitter's small ruff.  The portrait is in many ways comparable to a Portrait of a Man in the De Young Museum, San Francisco.¹

The Portrait of a Man in a Hat has not been on the market since April 1912, when it was included in the auction of the collection of Jean Dollfus, one of a series of sales from his estate.  During his life Dollfus collected paintings of very high quality from the Renaissance through the nineteenth century, as well as decorative arts.  Lucas Cranach the Elder's Venus and Cupid, now in the Princeton University Art Museum, was also in the April auction.  Sometime later in 1912, probably in November, The Portrait of a Man in a Hat was acquired by Edward Parmelee Eells.²  Eells was a prominent businessman in Cleveland, whose first great success was the Bucyrus Foundry & Manufacturing Company (later the Bucyrus Company), which provided the machinery used in the excavation of the Panama Canal.  As his various companies grew so did his involvement with numerous charities in the area and his promotion of the arts.  For many years he was a member of the acquistions and advisory committees of the Cleveland Museum of Art.  The Portrait of a Man was at some point in time in the museum, either for examination or on loan, as is indicated by the labels on the back of the picture.

We are very grateful for the help of Dr. Werner Schade and Dr. Dieter Koepplin for confirming the attribution of this painting to Lucas Cranach the Younger from high resolution digital images and transparencies.

1.  W. Schade, Die Malerfamilie Cranach, Dresden 1974, p. 464, no. 205, reproduced. 
2.  On the first page of American Art News, vol. XI, no. 7, November 23, 1912, is an illustration of a painting that looks remarkably like the present work, except that the sitter wears an embroidered waistcoat rather than a plain one and there is no date visible in the background.  The caption underneath reads 'Portrait of a Man, By Lucas Cranach.  Sold by the Henry Reinhardt Galleries to a Western Collector."  It is possible that the date was painted over in the Reinhardt painting in order to sell it as a work of Cranach the Elder, but that does not explain the change in the costume.  We cannot even be certain that this is the same picture, but we have had the signature and date on the present painting tested and they are contemporary with the rest of the work.