An Object Biography of UAMA's Virgin and Child by the Studio of Lucas Cranach the Elder

Abstract

Originally intended for art historians and collectors, museums and auction houses, provenance research has begun to infiltrate the general public’s interest. This is widely due to restitution claims involving collections with Nazi-era histories, antiquities’ looting, or colonial collection practices. The aim of this case study is to explore the provenance of a panel painting by the studio of Lucas Cranach the Elder, entitled Virgin and Child, in the Kress collection of the University of Arizona Museum of Art (hereafter UAMA). Using an object biography methodology, I present the history of the painting, from its origins in the Lucas Cranach studio, its transfers, various owners and their histories, and its exhibitions to the present day. Additionally, a secondary goal for this thesis is to document potential issues that presented themselves and explore avenues for solving these. The original goal was to provide context around a transfer in 1938-1940 and how the painting left the hands of a Jewish art collector fleeing Nazi Germany. Careful research and interviews concluded that the painting was sold after the war but revealed the difficulties of relying on previously recorded provenance information.