Portrait of Joachim II, Elector of Brandenburg Attributed to Cranach in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, January 2012

Portrait of Joachim II, Elector of Brandenburg

Companion to the portrait of Magdalena of Saxony in the Art Institute of Chicago (1938.310).

Lucas Cranach the Elder, German (active Vienna, Wittenberg, and Weimar), 1472 - 1553

Date: 1529

Medium: Oil on panel

Dimensions: 23 3/8 x 16 3/8 inches (59.4 x 41.6 cm)

Curatorial Department: European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection

Object Location: Gallery 218, European Art 1100-1500, second floor

Accession Number: Cat. 739

Credit Line: John G. Johnson Collection, 1917

Label:
This portrait of Elector Joachim II (German, 1505-1571) depicts the ruler as heir apparent, six years before he assumed the electoral dignity. It is the companion to Cranach's portrait of Joachim's wife, Magdalena of Saxony (1507-1534), now at the Art Institute of Chicago. Joachim's pearl-decorated doublet displays two repeated motifs: the head of a jester and the letter M. Each M is topped with a heart and crown, probably in playful reference to Magdalena as the queen of Joachim's heart. The jesters may allude to the widespread notion that folly accompanies love.

Text from: www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/102550.html?mulR=944677443|4