Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder
1511-1514

The Martyrdom of Saint Barbara

oil on panel

19 ¼ × 15 ¼ inches (49 × 38.39 cm.)

PROVENANCE:
D. Heinemann, Munich, 1936 (as Lucas Cranach the Elder); possibly Victor D. Spark, New York, 1971; Anonymous sale, Christie’s, New York, January 9, 1981, lot 180 (as School of Lucas Cranach the Elder); where purchased by Bob Guccione, New York, until 2007

LITERATURE: possibly D. Koepplin & T. Falk, Lukas Cranach. Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Druckgraphik, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel/Stuttgart, 1974/76, pp. 550-552

Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472-1553) was one of the most important artists working in sixteenth century Europe and his influence on the development of German painting would be almost unparalleled. His workshop in Wittenberg was in operation for almost five decades and the artist’s patrons when commissioning a painting were fully aware that it would not be executed solely by the Master. Cranach had a reputation for being able to produce numerous works in short periods of time and his capacity for speed was one that was applauded during his lifetime.¹ The artist’s success and sustained reputation were due to the workshop tradition he established in order to maintain the quality of his output and meet the ever-rising tide of demand. ²

In 2007 Dr. Gunnar Heydenreich undertook the first cohesive study of Cranach’s workshop practices, techniques and use of materials. By investigating the artist’s working methods a clearer definition of authenticity, dating, display and function emerged. His findings were published in Lucas Cranach the Elder: Painting materials, techniques and workshop practice, Amsterdam University Press, 2007 and his essay “Virtuosity and Efficiency in the Artistic Practice of Lucas Cranach the Elder” in Cranach, exhibition catalogue, Royal Academy of the Arts, London, November 23. 2007 – February 17, 2008, pp. 29-47. In 2009 Dr. Heydenreich made an in-depth study of our Martyrdom of Saint Barbara, applying a range of analytical methods, whose results were compared with the characteristic workshop practices of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Lucas Cranach the Younger. More than 300 paintings by the Cranachs served as reference material with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of the work and to draw conclusions about its date and author. ³

The prototype of our painting is thought to have been the Metropolitan Museum’s panel The Martyrdom of St. Barbara from about 1510-1512 (see: Max J. Friedländer & Jakob Rosenberg, The Paintings of Lucas Cranach, Wellfleet Press, Secaucus, New Jersey, 1978, no. 21, p. 72), presumably produced for the Rehm Family of Augsburg, whose coat-of-arms appears in the lower right corner. It is also possible that our work followed another model of the subject that no longer exists. Pictorial sources for the composition are believed to be Cranach’s early woodcut of the same theme (c. 1509) as well as an engraving of The Martyrdom of St. Barbara by the Master MZ (c. 1501). Our panel deviates from the Metropolitan’s painting only in the omission of a few small details such as Barbara’s halo and the flock of birds near the left tower, as well as minor changes most likely stemming from the need to adjust the composition to a smaller format with deviating proportions. It is also apparent that Cranach liked to have small variations in compositions when replicated. ⁴Besides the Metropolitan and our painting, only one other smaller version (38 × 29 cm.) possibly from the Cranach workshop is known. Last seen in the Edward Götzschel Collection, Frankfurt in 1926, its details closely parallel our panel. Examination of the existing photograph suggests this work may be a copy of our panel as some details refer to its painted surface and do not reflect the underdrawing of our work or that of the Metropolitan’s. ⁵

The preliminary underdrawing was executed with a quill pen and diluted black ink (see 1A). Outlines and volumes are given with a few impulsive curved strokes and shadows are rarely indicated by hatching. There are no changes detectable in the free-hand drawing. This type of underdrawing is typical of many paintings by Cranach the Elder and his workshop. The reliance on outlines and a tendency towards simplification are characteristic of the majority of Cranach’s underdrawings after 1510. Some deviations between the underdrawing and the final painting are also common with many Cranach paintings. ⁶

The fine cracks in the ground are similar to those in several other works from the Cranach workshop.⁷ There are hardly any changes noticeable within the painting process. ⁸Consistent with other paintings by Cranach are for example the grayish undermodeling of the sky, parts of the landscape, the blue garment of the witness, the armour of the soldier and the leg dress of Dioscorus. The stippling application of blue paint, done to add the illusion of depth, as well as the mixture of pigments (here probably azurite partially mixed with white and black) of the sky and garment are also characteristic. An x-radiograph reveals that the modeling for the faces was achieved in a few layers, probably within a relatively short period. The final drawing of contour lines, hair and eye lashes was applied in short lines and by comparison with other works by Cranach himself with relatively little routine. ⁹

Within Cranach’s workshop no evidence exists of a co-operative painting process in which various assistants were given designated tasks in an assembly-line production. Different work seems to have elicited different combinations of labor and the extent of the Master’s involvement is unclear. Cranach’s earliest output lacks a defining style that can be used to mark his own work. He is constantly experimenting and the workshop carries on the tradition. Assistants worked on paintings by the Master just as Cranach aided in works executed by assistants, all to varying degrees in different areas. Workshop participation was enormous and it is important to state that the overriding aim of this type of collaboration was to produce a product of such quality that a separation of hands would prove almost impossible. ¹⁰

From records it is known that by 1512 three apprentices were members of the workshop along with as many as ten journeymen. In Dr. Heydenreich’s opinion our panel dates from 1511-1514, executed when the Metropolitan Museum’s Martyrdom of St. Barbara was still in Cranach’s studio c. 1512, or shortly thereafter copying a now lost replica. Noting its very painterly quality but marking deviations that exist with paintings labeled as solely by the hand of Lucas Cranach the Elder, Dr. Heydenreich has designated this work as “painted by a remarkably skilled member of Lucas Cranach the Elder’s workshop.” ¹¹

According to the story that appears in the Golden Legend, Barbara was locked by her father Dioscorus into a tower because of her singular beauty. There she learned about Christianity and converted. When her father found out about her new faith he drew his sword to kill her but she miraculously escaped into the mountains and hid in a cave shown here in the background. Betrayed by a shepherd, Barbara was condemned to be tortured and put to death by beheading. The panel represents the moment when she kneels in front of the cave and her father is about to carry out the death sentence. Four witnesses attend the scene. The man with a crook in his hand may represent the shepherd, although dressed in a sumptuous coat.¹²

The complete results of Dr. Gunnar Heydenreich’s technical analysis are available upon request.

We are extremely grateful to Dr. Gunnar Heydenreich for his research and assistance in the writing of this entry.

¹ Heydenreich, op. cit., 2007, pp. 22-23.

² Heydenreich, op. cit., 2007/2008, p. 46.

³ Dr. Gunnar Heydenreich, Report on the Examination of the Painting Martyrdom of Saint Barbara, Dormagen-Rheinfeld, January 2009, p. 1.

⁴ Heydenreich, op. cit., 2007, p. 300.

⁵ Heydenreich, op. cit., 2009, pp. 1-2, 5-6.

⁶ Taken verbatim from Heydenreich, 2009, p. 3.

⁷ Very similar cracks have been observed in the chalk-glue grounds of several paintings from the Cranach workshop, which date from 1506 to c. 1515 (see: Heydenreich, 2007, p. 66, fig. 43). The formation of such early cracks might relate to the presence of moisture during the application of the ground that could have caused the support to swell. Taken verbatim from Heydenreich, 2009, p. 3.

⁸ Ibid., p. 3.

⁹ Taken verbatim in parts from Heydenreich, 2007, pp. 4-5.

¹⁰ Heydenreich, 2007, pp. 293-294, 298.

¹¹ Heydenreich, 2009, pp. 5-6.

¹² Taken verbatim in parts from Heydenreich, 2009, p. 1.

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