German School, Early 17th century

The canvas is lined with added corners suggesting that the painting may have once had a different shape, possibly an oval or an octagon. The painting is under an uneven, old varnish, and craquelure is visible in all four corners. Overall the painting presents a strong image and the details are well preserved, particularly in the face and collar of the sitter as well as in the decorative jewelry on his hat and clothing. The darker pigments of the costume and hat, however, have lost some definition and are a bit more difficult to read. Inspection under UV light reveals retouching in the four corners and some minor spots of retouching on the collar. There is an additional spot of retouching, possibly to address an old puncture, in the upper right background beneath the inscription. The painting is offered in a dark wood frame with golden trims.
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This painting closely relates to an anonymous half-length portrait of the same sitter dated 1612 in the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg (inv. no. GK I 1103).¹ Both the present work and its related canvas can be connected to a 1602 engraving of Albrecht Friedrich said to be after a work by Andreas Riehl the Younger. 1. Oil on canvas, 93 by 79 cm.  See Cranach und die Kunst der Renaissance unter den Hohenzollern, exhibition catalogue, Munich 2009, pp. 186-187, cat. no. II.17, reproduced.