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拍品專文
This is an early work by Lucas Cranach II, datable to circa 1535. At that time, Lucas was establishing himself as one of the main hands in his father's workshop, in which he was to take a dominant role after the death of his elder brother, Hans, in 1537. This, then is a picture of the younger Lucas' early maturity, painted under the immediate supervision of his father, whose models it closely follows.
The subject, the pairing of a somewhat grotesque old man and a knowing, youthful beauty, was very popular in sixteenth-century art; presenting as it did a somewhat lascivious image under the guise of a morality lesson, it afforded the artist an opportunity of depicting a degree of licentuousness that might not otherwise have been acceptable. A theme of unimpeachable antiquity, its introduction to northern art is generally credited to Quinten Metsys, who would have been familiar with it from contemporary literature, including most famously Erasmus' reference to it in his Praise of Folly (quoting Aristophanes' scorn for old men as 'nasty, crumpled, miserable, shrivelled, bald, toothless and wanting their baubles', who are so delighted with life that they dye their grey hair, acquire false teeth and propose to dowryless young women).
The popularity of the theme in German art was further enhanced by its inclusion amongst the pictorial representations on the theme of 'Weibermacht' or the power of women over man. In the late Middle Ages, a large body of literature, including sermons, romantic poems, troubadour songs and plays concerning this theme had appeared. The depictions could be portrayed as either a mild, humorous satire on the war between the sexes or as a strong indictment against all involvement with women. The early sixteenth century saw a considerable burst of interest in the theme amongst printmakers, probably stimulated by the satirical warnings against folly common to much contemporary writing, for example Brant's Ship of Fools (first published in 1494), Erasmus' above-mentioned In Praise of Folly (1511) and Thomas Murner's Exorcism of Fools and Guild of Rogues (1512).
It is perhaps no surprise, therefore, that from about 1512-1520 Cranach and his most of his contemporaries - including Hans Baldung Grien, Albrecht Altdorfer, Hans Burgkmair, Ambrosius Holbein, Urs Graf and Lucas van Leyden - explored various aspects of the topic in woodcuts and engravings. It is, however, Cranach who is credited with introducing the theme to painting, probably due to court commissions: So, for example, a series depicting, amongst others, Salome, Hercules and Omphale, Cupid as a Lion-tamer, Venus and Cupid, The Judgement of Paris and Lucretia, was commissioned to represent the theme of 'dass einst die Frauen alles vermochten' from Cranach in 1513 for the marital bed of Duke Johann of Saxony.
It is possible that the elder Cranach was, like Metsys, following Italian prototypes. Leonardo treated the subject and his influence had spread widely: Metsys himself used another drawing of his for one of the heads in his version of the subject in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. The most direct source, however, might have been Lucas I's predecessor as painter to the Saxon court, Jacopo de' Barbari, who addressed the subject in a painting of 1503 (Philadelpia, John G. Johnson collection). Whatever his influence, the elder Cranach returned to the subject on several occasions: the two earliest examples of 1520-2 and dated 1522 (both Budapest, Szépmúvészeti Múzeum) as well as the pictures in the Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna (1531), the Rudolfinum, Prague (circa 1530) and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (circa 1530). In the present composition, Lucas II is closely influenced by those of his father, but no direct prototype is known, the closest being the Vienna painting of 1531, the relative originality of the image showing the young Lucas II's growing independence within his father's workshop.
We are grateful to Dr. Werner Schade for confirming the attribution to Lucas Cranach II after inspection of the original.
The subject, the pairing of a somewhat grotesque old man and a knowing, youthful beauty, was very popular in sixteenth-century art; presenting as it did a somewhat lascivious image under the guise of a morality lesson, it afforded the artist an opportunity of depicting a degree of licentuousness that might not otherwise have been acceptable. A theme of unimpeachable antiquity, its introduction to northern art is generally credited to Quinten Metsys, who would have been familiar with it from contemporary literature, including most famously Erasmus' reference to it in his Praise of Folly (quoting Aristophanes' scorn for old men as 'nasty, crumpled, miserable, shrivelled, bald, toothless and wanting their baubles', who are so delighted with life that they dye their grey hair, acquire false teeth and propose to dowryless young women).
The popularity of the theme in German art was further enhanced by its inclusion amongst the pictorial representations on the theme of 'Weibermacht' or the power of women over man. In the late Middle Ages, a large body of literature, including sermons, romantic poems, troubadour songs and plays concerning this theme had appeared. The depictions could be portrayed as either a mild, humorous satire on the war between the sexes or as a strong indictment against all involvement with women. The early sixteenth century saw a considerable burst of interest in the theme amongst printmakers, probably stimulated by the satirical warnings against folly common to much contemporary writing, for example Brant's Ship of Fools (first published in 1494), Erasmus' above-mentioned In Praise of Folly (1511) and Thomas Murner's Exorcism of Fools and Guild of Rogues (1512).
It is perhaps no surprise, therefore, that from about 1512-1520 Cranach and his most of his contemporaries - including Hans Baldung Grien, Albrecht Altdorfer, Hans Burgkmair, Ambrosius Holbein, Urs Graf and Lucas van Leyden - explored various aspects of the topic in woodcuts and engravings. It is, however, Cranach who is credited with introducing the theme to painting, probably due to court commissions: So, for example, a series depicting, amongst others, Salome, Hercules and Omphale, Cupid as a Lion-tamer, Venus and Cupid, The Judgement of Paris and Lucretia, was commissioned to represent the theme of 'dass einst die Frauen alles vermochten' from Cranach in 1513 for the marital bed of Duke Johann of Saxony.
It is possible that the elder Cranach was, like Metsys, following Italian prototypes. Leonardo treated the subject and his influence had spread widely: Metsys himself used another drawing of his for one of the heads in his version of the subject in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. The most direct source, however, might have been Lucas I's predecessor as painter to the Saxon court, Jacopo de' Barbari, who addressed the subject in a painting of 1503 (Philadelpia, John G. Johnson collection). Whatever his influence, the elder Cranach returned to the subject on several occasions: the two earliest examples of 1520-2 and dated 1522 (both Budapest, Szépmúvészeti Múzeum) as well as the pictures in the Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna (1531), the Rudolfinum, Prague (circa 1530) and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (circa 1530). In the present composition, Lucas II is closely influenced by those of his father, but no direct prototype is known, the closest being the Vienna painting of 1531, the relative originality of the image showing the young Lucas II's growing independence within his father's workshop.
We are grateful to Dr. Werner Schade for confirming the attribution to Lucas Cranach II after inspection of the original.