Frederick III Of Saxony, Called The Wise, Franz Wolfgang Rohrich (nuremberg 1787 - 1834)

Follower of Lucas Cranach I (Kronach, 1472 - Weimar, 1553)
Attributed to Franz Wolfgang Rohrich (Nuremberg 1787 - 1834)

Frederick III of Saxony, called the Wise (1486-1525)

Oil on panel (59 x 41 cm - with frame 85 x 68 cm. )

Provenance:
Contini Bonacossi Collection, Florence, 1928 (as Lucas Cranach I)
Lempertz Auction, Cologne, November 29, 1968, lot 15
Dorotheum, Vienna, Old Master Paintings, 10.11.2022, lot 184 (as a follower of Lucas Cranach I, URL: https://www.dorotheum.com/de/l/8282042/)

The painting depicts Prince Frederick III of Saxony, known as Frederick the Wise, in mature age, with a serene gaze and a calm expression on his face, half-length while holding a precious rosary. The prince appears richly dressed, with a gold brocade suit, a brown fur collar spread over the shoulders, and a golden headdress for his hair.

The sleeves are decorated with knotted gold cords and the rosary beads are gold spheres. The lectern, on which a book rests, is covered with a fabric similar to that of the dress.

The original work, now lost, is a portrait that the court painter Lucas Cranach made for the Dominican church in Nuremberg, part of a religiously motivated princely propaganda program set in motion by the ruler.

To fulfill this purpose, several copies were already made at the time, one of which is the one now in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (URL: https://objektkatalog.gnm.de/wisski/navigate/9755/view).


In our case, the painting is part of the series of replicas made in later times at the hands of the skilled German painter Franz Wolfgang Rohrich, who trained at the Munich Academy of Art and then settled in Nuremberg, where he replicated with great success numerous paintings in the exact style and technique of the models by Lucas Cranach I (1472 - 1553).

It is not known exactly whether Rohrich produced such works merely as an exercise in style or with a wittier purpose, but the fact remains that many collectors and even museums acquired such portraits mistaking them for original works of the period because of their perfect rendering. These include, for example, the portrait of 'Sibylle de Clèves with her son,' purchased by Pierre Révoil (1776-1842), a collector of medieval and Renaissance art, then entered the Musée Royal in 1828 with the Révoil collection, as an original by Cranach (now of course correctly traced back to Rohrich, held in the Louvre collections, URL: https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010066838)

By way of illustration we show you one more of his creations:
- Cleve's Sibyl, Huntington (New York), August Heckscher Museum
- New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sophie of Poland https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437495
- New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Frederick I (1460-1536), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437494
- Portrait d'une femme à l'enfant toile, 60 x 42.5 cm Saint-Pétersbourg, Musée national de l'Ermitage
- Christies London Old Master and British Paintings: 30 Oct 2014 https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5836523
- Isabeau of Bavaria https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Isabeau_of_Bavaria_-_Franz_Wolfgang_Rohrich_(attr.)_-_19th_centur....

As we can ascertain, our enormously talented painter perfectly echoes Cranach's style and technique, with the same meticulous attention to detail.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work sold is completed by a nice frame and comes with a certificate of authenticity and guarantee.

We take care of and arrange transportation of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.

You can also see the painting in the gallery in Riva del Garda, we will be glad to welcome you to show you our collection of works.

Please contact us, without obligation, for any additional information.

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