Portrait of a man aged 25, half-length, in a black coat and hat

Formerly thought to be by an artist active in the orbit of Barholomäus Bruyn, this portrait has been recently reattributed by Ludwig Meyer of the Archiv Für Kunstgeschichte, Munich, to the Master of the Andreas Hertwig Portrait. This as-yet-unidentified artist, recognizable by his unique practice of dating his works precisely with both day and month, was initially identified by Kurt Löcher in a painting similar to the present lot, likewise a portrait of a gentleman, dated 1541. That painting was sold at Christie's in London, 6 July 1990 lot 44 as 'Circle of Christoph Amberger', and is currently part of the German National Museum collection in Nürnberg (fig. 1). The sitter in the Nürnberg portrait is identified as Andreas Hertwig (1511-1575), a councilor to Ferdinand I (who ruled as King of Bohemia from 1527 until he was made Emperor in 1556), and it is from that portrait that the anonymous artist received his moniker. Though he was clearly influenced by Cranach, it is not probable that either the present lot or the Nürnberg portrait is by the hand of Lucas Cranach, Barthel Bruyn or Hans Mielich.