Studio of Lucas Cranach the Elder

King Ludwig I of Bavaria (1786-1868), Nuremburg;
By whom sold in 1832 to Albert Reindel (1784-1853), director of the Nuremberg Academy;
Thence by descent to his son, Jacob Reindel, from whom acquired by Carl Haag (1820-1915) in 1858;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

London, Royal Academy of Arts, Winter Exhibition, 1872-73, no. 170, lent by Carl Haag.

A. Graves, A Century of Loan Exhibitions, 1813-1912, vol. I, London 1913, p. 227.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The oak panels are in a good condition, the paint is secure and flat. There are some small losses to the tunics of both sitters and discoloured restorations to the blue backgrounds, to Martin Luther beneath the date and signature and to the edge of the sitter's left sleeve; and to Philip Melanchthon to the edge of the panel, right. Apart from these minor discolorations the panels are in a good original and untouched condition. Removal of the varnish would improve the tonality. Offered in a modern gilt frame with oak slips, in good condition."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Small-scale portraits such as these were produced by Cranach and his studio to satisfy the enormously high demand for the artist's images of the great figures of the time. These panels portray two of the great intellectual figureheads of their day. Melanchthon was Luther's voice of reason in all matters theological and philosophical and defended his views to the end. He was a key figure in the Lutheran revolution and referred to Luther as his spiritual father.

The earliest depictions of these sitters by Cranach, dated 1532 and of even smaller dimensions, are in the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden.¹ Although dated 1543 the present works depict the sitters at a similar age to the Dresden pictures. The extremely high quality of the present works, and in particular that of the faces, suggests that Cranach himself may have played a part in their execution.

A note on the Provenance
According to undated Haag family documents (copies of which will be passed to the purchaser) these two portraits formerly formed part of the collection in the castle at Nuremberg, where the town's art school and library were also located. In 1832, King Ludwig I attended the town festival and, in preparing the castle for his residence, the art collection was transferred to the Landower Bruderhouse; this cloister not being large enough to house the entire collection, a large number of works were sold publicly. Albert Reindel, the director of the Nuremberg art school, acquired a large number of these works, including this pair of portraits. They were then sold by Albert's son to Carl Haag, a pupil of Reindel who had always admired them in the latter's house. They were then lent by Haag, along with the following lot in this sale, to the Royal Academy Winter Exhibition in 1872-73.

Carl Haag (1820-1915) was a very notable painter of Oriental subject matter. By the late 1840s he had settled in London and in 1853 was commissioned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to paint two large watercolours to commemorate deer stalking exhibitions at their Scottish estate, Balmoral. He travelled widely through Egypt, Syria, Dalmatia and Palestine and he is perhaps best known for his watercolours depicting bedouin life in these places. His watercolours were immensely popular during the 19th century and remain so today. He eventually returned to Germany, retiring to Oberwesel on the Rhine in 1903. 

1. H. Marx & I Mössinger, Cranach, Dresden 2005, pp. 474-75, cat. nos. 42.1 & 42.2.