Description

LUCAS CRANACH D. AE
(Kronach 1472 - 1553 Weimar)

Saxon prince on horseback.

Monogrammed and dated "LC" and "1506". Woodcut. 18:12,5 cm.
Hollst. 110 II. B. 116. Messling, The World of Lucas Cranach, Brussels 2010, no. 47. Koepplin / Falk Lucas Cranach, Basel 1974, no. 20.
The oldest graphic works by Lucas Cranach date from the same period as his earliest verifiable paintings. They were created during his stay in Vienna around 1501/03. In 1505 he came to the Saxon court and worked for the Saxon dukes not only as a painter but also as a graphic artist. During the first five years of his court painting, he produced most of the large woodcut works, such as the Tournaments, the Wittenberg Heiltumbuch, the Stag Hunt, the Passion, and the Clairobscur cuts. Cranach's prints are also far less common in major museum collections than Dürer's prints. This woodcut is one of Cranach's most popular, precisely because of the landscape in the background. For often the buildings depicted by Lucas Cranach cannot be identified, but here the castle in the background seems clearly to be the Veste Coburg. From this it can be concluded that the equestrian figure represents a Saxon prince. Only the exact identification is not clear. Prevailing opinion is that it shows the later Elector Johann Friedrich, he would have been 3 years old here. Only 1 copy of the first state is known in Budapest. Lower line reinforced with ink. Revision in the horse's hind leg, otherwise excellent copy. [H10].

The prince on the horse.

Monogr. and dat.: "LC" and "1506". Woodcut. 18:12,5 cm.
Hollst. 110 II. B. 116. Messling, Die Welt des Lucas Cranach, Brussels 2010, no. 47. Koepplin / Falk Lucas Cranach, Basel 1974, no. 20.
The oldest graphic works by Lucas Cranach are from the same time as his earliest known paintings. In 1505, he joined the Saxon Court and worked for the Saxon Dukes, not only as a painter, but also as a printmaker. Cranach's prints in major museum collections are far less common than prints by Dürer.This woodcut is one of Cranach's most popular, because of its scenery in the background. Often, it's not possible to identify the buildings illustrated by Cranach, but here, the castle in the background is clearly recognizable as the Fortress of Coburg. Therefore, it can be concluded that the equestrian figure represents a Saxon prince. Althoughan exact identification is not possible, prevailing opinion is that it shows the future Prince Johann Friedrich. There's only one copy from the first state known in Budapest. The Bottom line with ink intensified and the hind leg of the horse overworked. Otherwise very good early impression. The only know copy from the first state is in Budapest. [H10].

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