Lucas Cranach the Elder, Portrait of Johannes Feige

Attribution and date

The portrait has generally been accepted as the work of Cranach himself.¹⁶  Details such as the fine, swift brush strokes creating the highlighted curls of the sitter’s hair and the economical, deftly painted highlights of the gleaming metal purse frame are clear indications of Cranach’s authorship (fig. 6). As discussed above, the date of the portrait must be either 152[?] or 153[?]. If the identification of the sitter as Johann Feige is accepted it is reasonable to date it to the early 1530s.

Detail from NG1925 showing a purse

Further sections

• Introduction
• Signature and date, provenance, exhibitions and loans
• Technical notes
• The subject
• Attribution and date