Tiny Cranach Painting That Vanished During WWII Returns to Dresden

"A miniature painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder not seen publicly since the end of World War II has been returned to the State Art Collections of Dresden, Germany. The painting depicts Friedrich III, also known as Frederich the Wise, a seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation. The Elector of Saxony is cast on a turquoise background and wears a reserved expression along with his characteristic thicket of beard and fur-trimmed robe."

"In the early 16th century, Friedrich served as a steadfast protector of Martin Luther, most notably sheltering him in Wartburg Castle after Emperor Charles V had declared him an outlaw of the Holy Roman Empire in 1521's Edict of Worms. Following Friedrich's death in 1525, demand for paintings of the great Saxon patriarch surged and few were better suited to the task than Cranach the Elder, who had served as a court painter since 1505."

"The small wood panel portrait was last documented in May 1945, among the works deposited by Dresden's museums in the limestone quarry of Pockau-Lengefeld, which served as a shelter for art as the Red Army approached from the east. It disappeared without a trace until 2024, when it was consigned to Artcurial, a Parisian auction house that duly investigated its provenance. One clue suggesting the painting's institutional past was the number 1355 painted in gold on the panel's lower right-hand corner."

"As it turned out, the Cranach was first catalogued in a 1722 to 1728 inventory under the same number, a time when it was housed inside the church of the Royal Palace. Its modern owners, the Dreyfus family in France, were contacted and returned the painting following "lengthy negotiations" and a "financial agreement," according to the State Art Collections of Dresden. It is currently on show at the Coin Cabinet of the Royal Palace as part of a special exhibition marking t"

A miniature wood panel portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder of Friedrich III, Elector of Saxony, has been returned to the State Art Collections of Dresden. The painting shows Friedrich the Wise against a turquoise background with a reserved expression, beard, and fur-trimmed robe. Friedrich protected Martin Luther, including sheltering him at Wartburg Castle after the 1521 Edict of Worms declared Luther an outlaw. After Friedrich’s death in 1525, demand for portraits of the Saxon reformer increased, and about 25 Cranach portraits survive. The work was last documented in May 1945 when Dresden museums deposited art in a limestone quarry near Pockau-Lengefeld, then vanished until 2024. It was identified through provenance research, including a gold number matching an early 18th-century inventory, and returned to Dresden after negotiations with its French owners.

Read at Artnet News