BOOK REVIEW2010

Lucas Cranach the Elder:
Painting Materials, Techniques and Workshop Practice.

Review by Rui Bordalo

Author: Gunnar Heydenreich Publisher: Amsterdam University Press Publication Year: 2007 Pages: 462 Images: 215 color illustrations, 64 b/w ISBN: 9789053567456 Price: 55,00 Euros Where to find it: http://www.aup.nl

Lucas Cranach the Elder has been object of study for over four centuries. Nevertheless, this book is most probably the very first comprehensive study of the painting technique of this 16th century German painter. It is an impressive and outstanding work that comprises information on hundreds of paintings and thus, it is already a reference book for the work of Lucas Cranach the Elder.

This profusely illustrated book, with 279 images, is very well structured in 5 main chapters. In the first chapter, the author compiles the available information from historic sources, scholars and biographers, since the 17th to the 20th century. The three next chapters are divided according to the paintings support: panel, canvas or other supports. Finally, the fifth chapter is dedicated to the workshop organization. The book is completed by a summary chapter and further appendices.

The second chapter is dedicated to the study of the paintings on wooden support. The author introduces us to the characteristics of the wood in all its aspects: the format, the wood species, the technical aspects of the panel production and the stabilization of joins, knots and resinous deposits, among other features. Apart the paint support, the frames and their decoration were object of study. After the characterisation of the support, the author begins the study of the preparatory and paint layers. With the help of infrared reflectography, the underdrawing, the tools and techniques were also characterised.
He continues with the study of the application of gold, silver and paper and only after he starts the characterisation of the paint materials, the pallete and brushes used by Cranach.

The third chapter is fully dedicated to the canvas paintings. At first sight the chapter is surprisingly short but only because of the few canvases that have survived until our days. On this chapter, the author studied the canvas material in several ways, including also its formats, thread density, colour, and even cost.

The fourth chapter, dedicated to painting in other supports, includes a short reference to paintings on parchment, paper, metal, mural painting and architectural decoration.

The fifth chapter is dedicated to the workshop organisation at the time, including his several locations, partnerships and workshop members, apprentices and helpers among others.

This book is, undoubtedly, an impressive work of Dr. Heydenreich, based on the author’s PhD thesis submitted to the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London. Gunnar Heydenreich is now Head of Paintings Conservation at the Restaurierungszentrum at Düsseldorf, Germany.