(Leipzig circa 1500–1562 Annaberg)
Adam and Eve and the Tree of Knowledge,
oil on panel, 66.5 x 51 cm, framed

Provenance:
with Gaston Neumans, Paris, 1927;
Collection of Viktor Bloch (1883–1968), Vienna/London;
his sale, H. Gilhofer & H. Ranschburg, Lucerne, 30 November 1934, lot 54 (as Lucas Cranach the Younger);
sale, Christie’s, Paris, 25 June 2019, lot 2 (as Follower of Lucas Cranach the Elder);
where acquired by the present owner

We are grateful to Gunnar Heydenreich, Cranach Digital Archive Cologne, for suggesting the attribution as an autograph work by Heusler following first-hand inspection and IRR analysis.

The subject was one of Lucas Cranach the Elder’s favourites, as is evidenced by the numerous versions executed by the master and his workshop. Indeed, one could argue that it is one of Cranach’s most iconic compositions. In the first half of the sixteenth century, the depiction of nude figures was very popular among private patrons but required thematic justification to which the Lutherans did not object. This was ideally provided by the subject Adam and Eve. The composition is admired particularly for its treatment of the human figure and for the profusion of finely painted details, including animals and vegetation.

Cranach himself was apparently fascinated by the motif, which was ideally suited to his gifts. Versions of it were executed in a period spanning over thirty years of his artistic development. His first dated variants, now in the museums of Besançon, Leipzig, and Warsaw, show the figures set against stark, dark backgrounds, demonstrating the influence of Dürer’s Adam and Eve of 1507, today in the Prado, Madrid (inv. nos. P02177, P02178). Towards the mid-1520s Cranach had, for the first time, added indigenous and exotic animals to his Garden of Paradise (fig. 1), quite likely influenced by Dürer and his famous copper engraving of 1504. In 1524 Cranach and Dürer had met in Nuremberg, and an artistic exchange about the attractive motif would appear plausible. While Dürer’s animals may be interpreted as allusions to the Four Humours, Cranach’s animals are less solemn and portentous. In its unique combination of motifs used by arguably the two most influential artists of the German Renaissance, the present painting impressively demonstrates the artistic influences and interdependencies between Lucas Cranach and Albrecht Dürer.

In 1505 Lucas Cranach was appointed court painter to Frederick the Wise, the Prince Elector of Saxony, but also worked for the Habsburg court and the House of Hohenzollern. To meet the brisk demand for his paintings, Cranach ran a highly productive workshop. He employed carefully selected assistants who worked under the master’s strict supervision and on the basis of models provided by him. Next to Hans Kemmer (circa 1495–1561) and Wolfgang Krodel (circa 1500–1563), Antonius Heusler was one of few collaborators in Cranach’s workshop known by name. He executed the present painting, which was rediscovered only recently, a short time after execution of the version of 1526 in the Courtauld Institute. His hand can be distinguished by the modelling with lead-white and the fine glazing technique in the complexions. What further identifies him as the artist of the present painting is the loose manner in which the composition has been drawn onto the support—a feature clearly revealed when the painting was examined with infrared reflectography (fig. 2). As is shown by pentimenti in the area of the figures, Heusler’s underdrawing served rather as an orientation for the painting process and less as definite outlines (see I. Sandner/H. Burckhardt, Antonius Heusler, ein Annaberger Maler der Reformationszeit, Marienberg 2018, p. 47). It is obvious that Heusler must have resorted to drawings and further versions when he executed his Adam and Eve on the basis of the London example.

The working process in Cranach’s workshop has not yet been the subject of extensive art historical research. but it seems highly likely that the present version was still painted in Cranach’s Wittenberg workshop, when Heusler had unlimited access to the master’s models. The present painting is also a precious example that illustrates how Cranach granted his most competent collaborators compositional liberties. It deviates from the London painting in the position of Adam’s arm and in the choice and arrangement of animals. In the present painting Heusler delights in capturing details such as the lion catching its reflection in the foreground pool of water. The principal purpose of the painting, which was presumably commissioned by a wealthy collector, is evidently to give pleasure rather than instruction. Heusler holds a balance between highly decorative, stylized forms and an immediacy and liveliness of presentation. He brilliantly combines devotional meaning with pictorial elegance and invention.

Antonius Heusler was born around 1500. Recent studies suggest that he came from Annaberg in Saxony (see op. cit., pp. 9–19). It seems that after his early training in Annaberg Heusler accompanied the so-called Master of the Pflock Altarpiece to the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder in Wittenberg around 1522. He remained in contact with the Wittenberg workshop after his return to Annaberg around 1526 (op.cit., pp. 25–44). The artist did not create his first independent works before the mid-1530s (Portrait of Nikolaus Seidel, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, signed, inv. no. 225). Heusler’s paintings are rare, but in his native town he soon ranked among the most highly respected artists. This is documented by several purchases of houses, which give evidence of the artist’s prosperity. Heusler died in Annaberg in January 1562.