In an unattended, deplorable state
“Encounters. From Cranach to Holbein” was once the title of an exhibition at the Moritzburg Art Museum in Halle an der Saale, which closed at the end of January 2018. What remains is the exhibition catalog, which is well worth reading. The show included three Renaissance epitaphs from the museum’s depots, which were actually just a thematic addition to the hand drawings on display. In the catalog, however, art-technological examination and restoration of the three panel paintings make their grand entrance
This catalog is an exemplary representation of the contribution of the various scholars and museum staff to the creation of the exhibition “Encounters. From Cranach to Holbein” at the Moritzburg Art Museum in Halle. After all, it is by no means usual for the conservator to write a detailed catalog text alongside the director and curator – and not just before the appendix, but in the main section on an equal footing.
The catalog accompanies a special cooperation project between the Anhalt Picture Gallery in Dessau and the museum in Halle, because for the first time both museums are combining holdings from the 15th and 16th centuries: Dessau a section of its wonderful collection of hand drawings owned by the Anhalt princes and Halle pamphlets from the Reformation period and six paintings from the 16th century. This art collection is unusual in Halle, as the focus of the collection is on modern art. The museum was particularly famous for its Expressionist collection. Unfortunately, a large part of it was removed from the museum during the “Degenerate Art” campaign. However, nothing has changed in terms of its modernist orientation.
This is another reason why the recently exhibited wood panel paintings have spent the last few decades in storage. In particular, two of the three epitaphs from the castle chapel in Löbnitz, which were stolen from the von Schönfeldt family during the land reform in 1945, were in an unnoticed, deplorable state until 2013. Restorer Tino Simon has been examining, researching, securing, cleaning and restoring them in a three-year project since 2013. In his catalog article “In search of the artist”, he provides a detailed and richly illustrated description of the findings, investigations, necessary work and his findings. “Despite many similarities in the painting style, stylistic differences are unmistakable even within the underdrawing. In addition to the different materials used, there is no doubt that there are different handwritings,” writes Simon on the subject of a possible attribution to Lucas Cranach the Younger and, on the basis of these investigations, argues for workshop work.
“Encounters. From Cranach to Holbein”, ed. by Christian Philipsen and Peter Kuras, Michael Imhof Verlag, 200 pages, 24.95 euros