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Lot Essay
As court painter to the Electors at Wittenberg, Lucas Cranach the Elder was charged with portraying the Saxon princes as well as their friends and allies. In this role, on several occasions he captured the likeness of Heinrich the Pious (the Devout), Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen and Lord of Friesland (1473-1541), most famously for the stylish 1514 full-length portrait of the duke with a hunting dog in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, and the 1537 full-length portrait of the duke in armor (fig. 1; formerly Dresden, Gemäldegalerie, removed from the town hall in 1871, destroyed during the Second World War). The present painting is a reduced, half-length version of the aforementioned destroyed work, executed on a scale that suggests it may have been intended to be exchanged as a gift, serving to strengthen ties between courts, as was the custom at that time. Cranach here portrays Henry gazing to his left with an expression of resolution and vigor befitting his status as one of the most powerful rulers in Germany. The duke wears iron chain mail armor, with arm cuffs and spiked gauntlets wrapped in red and gold cord. He holds a massive two-handed sword against his chest, while wearing a cavalry sword on his left side and a gold chain connected to a gilded dagger on his right.
Henry was the second son of Albert the Brave (1443-1500), the founder of the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. Upon his father’s death, his elder brother George the Bearded (1471-1539) succeeded him as Duke of Saxony, while Henry became Lord of Friesland. Disturbed by the constant strife and revolts in Friesland, however, in 1505 Henry ceded his title to his brother in exchange for an annuity and the districts of Freiberg and Wolkenstein. Henry was deeply affected by the teachings and writing of Martin Luther, and soon after the Reformer posted his 95 Theses in 1517, he fully embraced Lutheranism. This immediately led to conflict with his brother, who remained a staunch Catholic. George outlived his two sons, thus rendering Henry heir apparent. To prevent a Protestant succession, George attempted to disinherit his brother. These efforts proved in vain, however, as upon George's death in 1539, his territories ultimately fell to Henry who, despite his brief two-year rule, successfully established Protestantism as the official state religion of the Albertine lands of Saxony, including the ducal residence of Dresden. For this reason, along with his two pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Santiago de Compostela in 1498 and 1506 respectively, he received the sobriquet 'der fromme', meaning the Pious or the Devout.
The electoral coat-of-arms and inscription on Cranach’s destroyed 1537 full-length portrait removes any doubt about the identity of the sitter here: 'HEINRICH HERCZOG ZV SACHSSEN / LANDGRAVE IN DORINGENN VND / MARGGRAVE ZV MEISSENN'. In a recent study, Michael Hofbauer notes the high quality of the present painting suggesting that it was painted from life, coming close to capturing the true likeness of the Saxon Duke, and he has advanced the theory that it predates and may have served as a study for the destroyed full-length version (loc. cit.). Hofbauer hypothesizes that Cranach may have painted Henry’s portrait in Torgau or Wittenberg between 1534 and 1537, and further notes that the large two-handed sword may similarly have been painted from life, as it appears to correspond to the weapon preserved in the Rüstkammer of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden (inv. Nr. III 698).
On the basis of firsthand examination in 2022, Gunnar Heydenreich, to whom we are grateful, considers this painting to post-date the lost Dresden full-length portrait. Noting the work's 'remarkably high quality', he endorses an attribution to Lucas Cranach the Elder and Workshop (written correspondence, 26 November 2023).
Henry was the second son of Albert the Brave (1443-1500), the founder of the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. Upon his father’s death, his elder brother George the Bearded (1471-1539) succeeded him as Duke of Saxony, while Henry became Lord of Friesland. Disturbed by the constant strife and revolts in Friesland, however, in 1505 Henry ceded his title to his brother in exchange for an annuity and the districts of Freiberg and Wolkenstein. Henry was deeply affected by the teachings and writing of Martin Luther, and soon after the Reformer posted his 95 Theses in 1517, he fully embraced Lutheranism. This immediately led to conflict with his brother, who remained a staunch Catholic. George outlived his two sons, thus rendering Henry heir apparent. To prevent a Protestant succession, George attempted to disinherit his brother. These efforts proved in vain, however, as upon George's death in 1539, his territories ultimately fell to Henry who, despite his brief two-year rule, successfully established Protestantism as the official state religion of the Albertine lands of Saxony, including the ducal residence of Dresden. For this reason, along with his two pilgrimages to the Holy Land and Santiago de Compostela in 1498 and 1506 respectively, he received the sobriquet 'der fromme', meaning the Pious or the Devout.
The electoral coat-of-arms and inscription on Cranach’s destroyed 1537 full-length portrait removes any doubt about the identity of the sitter here: 'HEINRICH HERCZOG ZV SACHSSEN / LANDGRAVE IN DORINGENN VND / MARGGRAVE ZV MEISSENN'. In a recent study, Michael Hofbauer notes the high quality of the present painting suggesting that it was painted from life, coming close to capturing the true likeness of the Saxon Duke, and he has advanced the theory that it predates and may have served as a study for the destroyed full-length version (loc. cit.). Hofbauer hypothesizes that Cranach may have painted Henry’s portrait in Torgau or Wittenberg between 1534 and 1537, and further notes that the large two-handed sword may similarly have been painted from life, as it appears to correspond to the weapon preserved in the Rüstkammer of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden (inv. Nr. III 698).
On the basis of firsthand examination in 2022, Gunnar Heydenreich, to whom we are grateful, considers this painting to post-date the lost Dresden full-length portrait. Noting the work's 'remarkably high quality', he endorses an attribution to Lucas Cranach the Elder and Workshop (written correspondence, 26 November 2023).