Portrait of Sibylle von Cleve, Electress of Saxony (1510-1554), half- length, in a white dress with bands of gold and a white feathered hat

An early supporter and enthusiast of the Reformation, and friend of Martin Luther, Princess Sibylle von Julich-Cleve-Berg married Johann Friedrich I, Elector of Saxony, in 1526. Cranach painted marriage portraits of the Elector and his new wife that year (now in the Schlossmuseum, Weimar), and further portraits of the couple by both Cranach and the workshop are known. The largest and earliest of the known portraits of Sibylle, datable to c. 1531, was sold at Christie's, New York, 31 January 1997, lot 107. In both that painting and the present lot, the sitter wears a similarly embroidered collar with the inscription 'Als in Eren' ('All in Honor').