Lot 442: FABER, CONRAD ('Conrad von Creuznach') ca. 1500 Kreuznach (?) - ca. 1552 Frankfurt a. M.(?) - zugeschrieben Bildnis eines bärtigen Mannes mit Kappe und pelzverbrämten Mantel. Halbfigur. Öl auf Nadelholz. 70,5 x 53cm. Rahmen. Provenienz:

Danube School
Ca. 1530 - circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder

Portrait of a Bearded Man in a Cap and Fur-Lined Coat. Half figure. Oil on needlewood. 70,5 x 53cm. Framed.

Provenance:
Private collection, Berlin

The man portrayed stands before an open landscape with a lake, opposite a shore of jagged mountains on the horizon. A tiny, minutely detailed church can be seen on one of the land masses which reaches out into the lake (this motif is presumably meant to accentuate piety). The landscape, including the small group of pine trees in the foreground, are exceedingly well preserved and were carried out by a masterful and practised hand. The last glaze of the once very fine portrait is now lost, especially on the face, the fur-lining of the robe and the robe itself. The man's forehead shows a pentimento of eyes and eyebrows, apparently the head was originally meant to be facing a different direction to the body. The composition, landscape and oddly drawn fingers of the folded hands all point to the influence of Lucas Cranach and his workshop.