FABER VON CREUZNACH, Conrad

Conrad Faber von Kreuznach is particularly noted for his 1535 portrait works of Gilbrecht von Holzhausen (1514-1550) and his wife Anna Ratzeburger. In the background of this picture the city of Frankfurt am Main is depicted with a bird’s eye perspective. This makes the picture one of the earliest known depiction of the city.

In the background of this picture the city of Frankfurt am Main is depicted with a bird’s eye perspective. This makes the picture one of the earliest known depiction of the city.

The pendant of this painting depicts Anna Holzhausen n�e Ratzeburg, the wife of the sitter.

The bearded sitter in this portrait rests his arms on a stone parapet and holds a rosary with a pomander attached. He wears a broad-rimmed hat over a gold cap, a fur coat over a black shirt and white undershirt, and a gold ring on the left index finger. In the background at left, a bridge over a lake leads to a rocky outcropping topped by a castle; on the right there is a house near a winding road, and fortifications at the edge of the lake are connected to an island by a bridge.

There are two known copies of the portrait, one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (oil on oak panel, datable 1530-50) and another in the Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt (oil on copper, late sixteenth century).

This painting is a copy after Conrad Faber von Creuznach’s painting, now in the Mus�es Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels. It is debated whether it is an autograph replica by the painter himself or the work of an anonymous copyist. It is probably by a copyist.

The bearded sitter in this portrait rests his arms on a stone parapet and holds a rosary with a pomander attached. He wears a broad-rimmed hat over a gold cap, a fur coat over a black shirt and white undershirt, and a gold ring on the left index finger. In the background at left, a bridge over a lake leads to a rocky outcropping topped by a castle; on the right there is a house near a winding road, and fortifications at the edge of the lake are connected to an island by a bridge.

Conrad Faber von Creuznach is particularly noted for his 1535 pendant portraits of Gilbrecht von Holzhausen and his wife Anna Ratzeburger. In the background of these pictures the city of Frankfurt am Main is depicted with a bird’s eye perspective. This makes it one of the earliest known depiction of the city.

This painting shows the portraits of Justinian von Holzhausen (1502-1553) and his wife Anna (1510-1573).

The bearded sitter in this portrait is shown half length, wearing a broad-brimmed hat over a gold-embroidered cap. With his left hand he grips the hilt of a sword, whose pommel bears an image of St George Slaying the Dragon. One of the man’s two rings displays a gold shield bearing a profile Moor’s head with a silver headband. The background includes a walled city at the right surrounded by cultivated fields, patches of forest, and hamlets. The portrait was probably originally paired with a pendant of the sitter’s wife, though none has been identified.

The signet ring bears a Moor’s head, a common heraldic device, which has prompted several attempts at identification of the sitter. However, the question of identification remains unresolved.

Faber is known to have used recognizable city views in his landscapes, and the city in the right background of the present painting appears to be Nuremberg.

Formerly the painting was attributed to the Master of the Holzhausen Portraits, named after a group of likenesses of the Holzhausen family of Frankfurt, now in the Städel Museum there. This master had been identified as Conrad Faber von Creuznach.