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拍品專文
This portrait of Charles V, arguably the most powerful ruler of his time and one of the most significant figures in early modern history, depicts the emperor bust-length against a rich green background. Heir to the great Burgundian territories of the fifteenth century, inherited through his paternal grandmother, Mary of Burgundy; to the Kingdom of Spain, through his father, Philip the Fair; and to the Holy Roman Empire, through his grandfather, Maximillian I of Hapsburg, Charles ruled over extensive and prosperous territories across Europe. The emperor here is instantly recognizable thanks to his extraordinarily pronounced jaw, which according to some contemporary accounts protruded to such an extent that it was impossible for him to fully close his mouth. Around his neck he wears the emblem of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which hangs from a wide necklace decorated with the Burgundian flint and sparks, an emblem which had been adopted during the Armagnac Civil War (1407-1419) and likewise appears on his hat badge.
Since its discovery in the late 19th century, this portrait has consistently been associated with Lucas Cranach the Elder. Max J. Friedländer and Jakob Rosenberg cited it in their 1932 catalogue raisonné (loc. cit.) under their entry for the version in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, which is signed with Cranach’s serpent device and dated 1533, describing it as a later copy. Notably, when the work sold at Parke Bernet in 1953, the auction catalogue stated that it was accompanied by a certificate by Friedländer, `written in Holland in 1948…in it he states that this portrait is, in his opinion, after careful study, a characteristic and well-preserved work by the master dating from about 1550’ (see Provenance). The panel, which at some stage was cut along the upper edge, modifying its original corners into its present, arched top, appears to be beech, and is reinforced on the reverse with horizontal fibers, conforming to a practice often employed by Lucas Cranach and his workshop. Yet the technique, while highly refined, particularly in the subtle modeling of the face, does not perfectly conform to that of the master. Working from photographs in 2012, Dieter Koepplin suggested that the painting was `most probably not by Cranach'.
Lucas Cranach is documented to have painted his first portrait of Charles V in 1508, during a trip to the Netherlands. Now lost, that portrait showed the future emperor at age 8, when he was Archduke at the court of Margaret of Austria. Cranach met the emperor a second time years later, after the Elector John Frederick of Saxony was captured at the Battle of Mühlberg in 1547, when the artist participated in negotiations for his patron’s release. While the present portrait and the 1533 portrait of Charles V in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza are compositionally similar enough to suggest a common source, their precise relationship remains unclear. If Charles V did not sit for Cranach in 1533, and there is no documentary evidence to support such an interaction, then the possibility that for his Madrid painting, he was using a yet-undiscovered prototype, possibly of Flemish origin, must be considered. The question of the present painting’s relationship to that source remains unresolved.
We are grateful to Bodo Brinkmann, Joshua Waterman and Gunnar Heidenreich for their assistance in researching this painting.
Since its discovery in the late 19th century, this portrait has consistently been associated with Lucas Cranach the Elder. Max J. Friedländer and Jakob Rosenberg cited it in their 1932 catalogue raisonné (loc. cit.) under their entry for the version in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, which is signed with Cranach’s serpent device and dated 1533, describing it as a later copy. Notably, when the work sold at Parke Bernet in 1953, the auction catalogue stated that it was accompanied by a certificate by Friedländer, `written in Holland in 1948…in it he states that this portrait is, in his opinion, after careful study, a characteristic and well-preserved work by the master dating from about 1550’ (see Provenance). The panel, which at some stage was cut along the upper edge, modifying its original corners into its present, arched top, appears to be beech, and is reinforced on the reverse with horizontal fibers, conforming to a practice often employed by Lucas Cranach and his workshop. Yet the technique, while highly refined, particularly in the subtle modeling of the face, does not perfectly conform to that of the master. Working from photographs in 2012, Dieter Koepplin suggested that the painting was `most probably not by Cranach'.
Lucas Cranach is documented to have painted his first portrait of Charles V in 1508, during a trip to the Netherlands. Now lost, that portrait showed the future emperor at age 8, when he was Archduke at the court of Margaret of Austria. Cranach met the emperor a second time years later, after the Elector John Frederick of Saxony was captured at the Battle of Mühlberg in 1547, when the artist participated in negotiations for his patron’s release. While the present portrait and the 1533 portrait of Charles V in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza are compositionally similar enough to suggest a common source, their precise relationship remains unclear. If Charles V did not sit for Cranach in 1533, and there is no documentary evidence to support such an interaction, then the possibility that for his Madrid painting, he was using a yet-undiscovered prototype, possibly of Flemish origin, must be considered. The question of the present painting’s relationship to that source remains unresolved.
We are grateful to Bodo Brinkmann, Joshua Waterman and Gunnar Heidenreich for their assistance in researching this painting.