Follower of Lucas Cranach I
Portrait of Johann Friedrich I, The Magnanimous, Elector of Saxony (1503–1554),
oil on panel, 85 x 69 cm, framed
Provenance:
Collection of Dieter Klenk (1906–1983), Mainz, 1964;
where acquired by the present owner in 1983
The present painting, which depicts Johann Friedrich I, appears to have been painted after the elector’s death in 1554. Executed around 1578, the elector’s likeness may be based on a print. A comparable portrait of Johann Friedrich, dating from the same period, is in Schloss Weißenfels, Saxony. Both paintings show the scar near the Elector’s nose, inflicted at the battle of Mühlberg (1547). Johann Friedrich was the leading personality among the protestant German princes and one of the most important patrons of Lutheranism. In 1547, he was defeated at Mühlberg by an imperial army under the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Sentenced to death, he was forced to sign the Capitulation of Wittenberg, resigning his electoral dignity in order to have his sentence commuted to exile and imprisonment. He was released at the Peace of Passau a precursor to the wider Peace of Augsburg in 1555 which secured limited religious freedom in Germany.
Specialist: Damian Brenninkmeyer
Damian Brenninkmeyer
+43 1 515 60 403
damian.brenninkmeyer@dorotheum.at
30.04.2019 - 17:00
- Estimate:
-
EUR 40,000.- to EUR 60,000.-
Follower of Lucas Cranach I
Portrait of Johann Friedrich I, The Magnanimous, Elector of Saxony (1503–1554),
oil on panel, 85 x 69 cm, framed
Provenance:
Collection of Dieter Klenk (1906–1983), Mainz, 1964;
where acquired by the present owner in 1983
The present painting, which depicts Johann Friedrich I, appears to have been painted after the elector’s death in 1554. Executed around 1578, the elector’s likeness may be based on a print. A comparable portrait of Johann Friedrich, dating from the same period, is in Schloss Weißenfels, Saxony. Both paintings show the scar near the Elector’s nose, inflicted at the battle of Mühlberg (1547). Johann Friedrich was the leading personality among the protestant German princes and one of the most important patrons of Lutheranism. In 1547, he was defeated at Mühlberg by an imperial army under the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Sentenced to death, he was forced to sign the Capitulation of Wittenberg, resigning his electoral dignity in order to have his sentence commuted to exile and imprisonment. He was released at the Peace of Passau a precursor to the wider Peace of Augsburg in 1555 which secured limited religious freedom in Germany.
Specialist: Damian Brenninkmeyer
Damian Brenninkmeyer
+43 1 515 60 403
damian.brenninkmeyer@dorotheum.at
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| Auction: | Old Master Paintings |
| Auction type: | Saleroom auction |
| Date: | 30.04.2019 - 17:00 |
| Location: | Vienna | Palais Dorotheum |
| Exhibition: | 20.04. - 30.04.2019 |