.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
As portraitist of the Albertine Dukes of Saxony, Lucas Cranach was one of the most important image makers of the German Renaissance. His paintings and prints played a major role in codifying power through official state portraits, communicating his sitters’ strength while underscoring the legitimacy of their rulership. Cranach’s genius extended beyond his brush and printmaker’s tools: he was a sophisticated politician, who was able to simultaneously enjoy a very close relationship with Martin Luther and the luminaries of the Reformation, but also benefit from the patronage of Luther’s staunchly Catholic rivals, as evidenced by the present portrait of George the Bearded.
George was the eldest son of Albert the Bold (1443-1500), the founder of the Albertine line of the House of Wettin, and Sidonie (1449-1510), the daughter of George of Podiěbrad, King of Bohemia. His cousin was Frederick the Wise (1463-1525), from the Ernestine branch of the house of Wettin, who ruled in Wittenberg as Elector of Saxony. George received extensive theological and academic training in his youth, and his intellectual disposition would greatly impact his governmental career. Following the early death of his uncle, George became increasingly active in ruling his family’s territories, serving as regent while his father was in Friesland in 1488. In 1496, George married Barbara Jagiellon of Poland (1478-1534), the daughter of King Casimir IV of Poland in Dresden. They had many children together, though only a few lived to maturity. When his father died in 1500, George succeeded him as Duke of Saxony and ruler of the German territories, while his brother Henry IV the Devout (1473-1541) took over as Lord of Friesland. Disturbed by the continuous revolts that plagued his lands, however, Henry ceded his power to George in 1505, receiving in exchange an annuity and control of Freiberg and Wolkenstein. Eventually George sold Friesland to Charles (1500-1558), Duke of Burgundy (later Emperor Charles V) in 1515, as he never fully quashed the rebellions.
George was a very capable ruler, promoting and to a great extent achieving law and order across Saxony. He was also a great patron of the University of Leipzig, championing Humanism over Scholasticism. While he at first welcomed Luther’s reforms, he soon became wary of him and the two eventually became adversaries. Fundamentally, George remained an ardent supporter of the papacy, though his allegiance to the Vatican was not unconditional. Indeed, George contributed 12 of his own grievances to the Diet of Worms in 1521, mostly concerning the abuse of Indulgences. In 1525, he formed the League of Dessau for the protection of the Catholic faith and in 1533 he formed the Catholic League of Halle, which later became the Holy League of Nuremburg. Though most of his secular policies were effective, his mission to preserve Catholicism in his territories ultimately failed, as his heirs universally gravitated toward Lutheran reform. George outlived his two sons, thus rendering his brother Henry heir apparent. To prevent a Protestant succession, George attempted to disinherit his brother. These efforts were futile, as Henry was ultimately able to claim the Duchy and, in his brief two-year rule, successfully established Protestantism as the official state religion of the Albertine lands of Saxony, including the ducal residence of Dresden.
In the Bromberg painting, George appears half-length against a solid blue background. He faces right with his hands folded together as if resting on the lower edge of the picture’s frame. The duke wears a black, voluminous coat with pronounced folds and a high collar, befitting his office, and sports a large gold chain around his shoulders, from which hangs a pendant of the Order of the Golden Fleece. His blue-grey eyes gaze out before him to his left, as if he is calmly surveying the members of his court or his territories, reflecting at once his confidence and his perspicuity. Cranach allows his sitter’s body to fill the panel, communicating the strength and stability of the Albertine line. Lucas Cranach and his workshop employed this composition, likely working from a drawing taken from life, on numerous occasions, and several portraits of George the Bearded in this format survive. The best is the larger panel now in Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig, which is signed with the artist’s serpent device and dated 153[4] (fig.1).
We are grateful to Gunnar Heydenreich who, working from photographs of the Bromberg portrait, suggests an attribution to Lucas Cranach and Workshop, dating the painting to around 1535-1539 on the basis of its fine drawing and fluent brushwork (written communication, 15 July 2024). Our thanks also to Joshua Waterman, who concurs with this assessment (written communication, 2 August 2024). We are also grateful to Dieter Koepplin, who on the basis of photographs endorses the attribution to Lucas Cranach the Elder and Workshop, suggesting a date of c. 1537-39 (written communication, 30 August 2024).
THE BROMBERG FAMILY
Through his mother, Eleonore Kann (1852-1927), Dr. jur. Henry Bromberg (1878-1971) belonged to the family of the renowned collector Rodolphe Kann (1845-1905). This important family also included the Emdens. Henry's father, the industrialist Martin Bromberg (1850-1918), had a large collection of old master paintings and decorative arts, (described in Kunstgegenstände im Hause des Herrn Martin Bromberg, Hamburg, 1913, op. cit. supra), which was subsequently expanded by Henry’s own collecting. The latter lived in a large house in Hamburg-Eppendorf with his wife, Hertha née Calmon (1899-1964), and their four sons.
When the Nazis came to power, the Brombergs faced the increasing restrictions and persecutory measures levelled at Germany’s Jewish community. They made preparations to emigrate to the United States via Switzerland in 1938, including paying the punitive ‘flight’ and property taxes, funded partly by the forced sale of artwork. To further fund their flight, Henry Bromberg sold a number of pieces, including the present painting.
Please note that the present work is being offered for sale pursuant to a settlement agreement between the Allentown Art Museum and the heirs of Henry Bromberg. The settlement agreement resolves the dispute over ownership of the work and title will pass to the successful bidder.
George was the eldest son of Albert the Bold (1443-1500), the founder of the Albertine line of the House of Wettin, and Sidonie (1449-1510), the daughter of George of Podiěbrad, King of Bohemia. His cousin was Frederick the Wise (1463-1525), from the Ernestine branch of the house of Wettin, who ruled in Wittenberg as Elector of Saxony. George received extensive theological and academic training in his youth, and his intellectual disposition would greatly impact his governmental career. Following the early death of his uncle, George became increasingly active in ruling his family’s territories, serving as regent while his father was in Friesland in 1488. In 1496, George married Barbara Jagiellon of Poland (1478-1534), the daughter of King Casimir IV of Poland in Dresden. They had many children together, though only a few lived to maturity. When his father died in 1500, George succeeded him as Duke of Saxony and ruler of the German territories, while his brother Henry IV the Devout (1473-1541) took over as Lord of Friesland. Disturbed by the continuous revolts that plagued his lands, however, Henry ceded his power to George in 1505, receiving in exchange an annuity and control of Freiberg and Wolkenstein. Eventually George sold Friesland to Charles (1500-1558), Duke of Burgundy (later Emperor Charles V) in 1515, as he never fully quashed the rebellions.
George was a very capable ruler, promoting and to a great extent achieving law and order across Saxony. He was also a great patron of the University of Leipzig, championing Humanism over Scholasticism. While he at first welcomed Luther’s reforms, he soon became wary of him and the two eventually became adversaries. Fundamentally, George remained an ardent supporter of the papacy, though his allegiance to the Vatican was not unconditional. Indeed, George contributed 12 of his own grievances to the Diet of Worms in 1521, mostly concerning the abuse of Indulgences. In 1525, he formed the League of Dessau for the protection of the Catholic faith and in 1533 he formed the Catholic League of Halle, which later became the Holy League of Nuremburg. Though most of his secular policies were effective, his mission to preserve Catholicism in his territories ultimately failed, as his heirs universally gravitated toward Lutheran reform. George outlived his two sons, thus rendering his brother Henry heir apparent. To prevent a Protestant succession, George attempted to disinherit his brother. These efforts were futile, as Henry was ultimately able to claim the Duchy and, in his brief two-year rule, successfully established Protestantism as the official state religion of the Albertine lands of Saxony, including the ducal residence of Dresden.
In the Bromberg painting, George appears half-length against a solid blue background. He faces right with his hands folded together as if resting on the lower edge of the picture’s frame. The duke wears a black, voluminous coat with pronounced folds and a high collar, befitting his office, and sports a large gold chain around his shoulders, from which hangs a pendant of the Order of the Golden Fleece. His blue-grey eyes gaze out before him to his left, as if he is calmly surveying the members of his court or his territories, reflecting at once his confidence and his perspicuity. Cranach allows his sitter’s body to fill the panel, communicating the strength and stability of the Albertine line. Lucas Cranach and his workshop employed this composition, likely working from a drawing taken from life, on numerous occasions, and several portraits of George the Bearded in this format survive. The best is the larger panel now in Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig, which is signed with the artist’s serpent device and dated 153[4] (fig.1).
We are grateful to Gunnar Heydenreich who, working from photographs of the Bromberg portrait, suggests an attribution to Lucas Cranach and Workshop, dating the painting to around 1535-1539 on the basis of its fine drawing and fluent brushwork (written communication, 15 July 2024). Our thanks also to Joshua Waterman, who concurs with this assessment (written communication, 2 August 2024). We are also grateful to Dieter Koepplin, who on the basis of photographs endorses the attribution to Lucas Cranach the Elder and Workshop, suggesting a date of c. 1537-39 (written communication, 30 August 2024).
THE BROMBERG FAMILY
Through his mother, Eleonore Kann (1852-1927), Dr. jur. Henry Bromberg (1878-1971) belonged to the family of the renowned collector Rodolphe Kann (1845-1905). This important family also included the Emdens. Henry's father, the industrialist Martin Bromberg (1850-1918), had a large collection of old master paintings and decorative arts, (described in Kunstgegenstände im Hause des Herrn Martin Bromberg, Hamburg, 1913, op. cit. supra), which was subsequently expanded by Henry’s own collecting. The latter lived in a large house in Hamburg-Eppendorf with his wife, Hertha née Calmon (1899-1964), and their four sons.
When the Nazis came to power, the Brombergs faced the increasing restrictions and persecutory measures levelled at Germany’s Jewish community. They made preparations to emigrate to the United States via Switzerland in 1938, including paying the punitive ‘flight’ and property taxes, funded partly by the forced sale of artwork. To further fund their flight, Henry Bromberg sold a number of pieces, including the present painting.
Please note that the present work is being offered for sale pursuant to a settlement agreement between the Allentown Art Museum and the heirs of Henry Bromberg. The settlement agreement resolves the dispute over ownership of the work and title will pass to the successful bidder.