Portrait of a girl with forget-me-nots

Painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1526, this work shows a young woman in full length against a dark, neutral background, standing on a pale, stony ground, a setting typical of the master's workshop. The figure turns slightly, three-quarter view, with pale skin, reddish-blonde curly hair falling to her shoulders, slightly almond-shaped dark eyes and a faint smile. The clothing draws the eye most: a dark green velvet gown with gold and red details, a rectangular neckline veiled by a fine shirt, and a broad-brimmed flat red hat. Gold jewellery, a collar and two different necklaces, completes an ensemble that displays wealth without any need for a setting.

For a long time the painting was known as The Princess, and it was once thought to depict Princess Sibylla of Cleves. There is not enough evidence to support that identification, so most scholars read the figure as an idealised type rather than a specific individual. The features recur in other works by Cranach and reflect an ideal of beauty inherited from the Gothic tradition. Where it was painted and who commissioned it remain unknown.

The forget-me-not in the gloved right hand gives the picture much of its meaning. As a symbol of faithful love, the flower leads art historians to see a betrothal portrait, meant for a fiancé who may have sent his own likeness in return.

Cranach excelled at portraying people of high rank. He simplified faces but rendered the costumes of princes and nobles with great precision, a combination that makes his sitters appear somewhat stiff yet always elegant and proud of their station. The work belongs to a practice continued by his sons Lucas and Hans, and by his grandson Augustin.

Its history has been turbulent too. After entering Polish collections in the late eighteenth century, it was taken from Warsaw by the Nazis during the Second World War and moved to Germany. Recovered in 1945, it returned to the National Museum in Warsaw, where it is displayed today.

Painter

Lucas Cranach the Elder

Date

1526

Medium

tempera, oil paint, beech wood, panel

Dimensions

35 × 24 cm

Museum

Palace Museum in Wilanów, Warsaw

Genre

portrait

Depicts

forget-me-not, girl

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