Long-Lost Cranach Portrait Returns to Dresden Gallery After French Discovery

A portrait of Elector Frederick the Wise by Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop, missing since World War II, has been returned to Dresden's Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. The small-format painting was identified in France during a provenance check at an auction house, revealing it originally belonged to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD). Previous owners and the Museis Saxonicis Usui association facilitated its repatriation. Currently displayed in a special exhibition at the Residenzschloss's Münzkabinett, it will later be permanently housed in the Sempergalerie at the Zwinger. SKD holds the world's largest Cranach collection with 67 works; 18 were lost during the war, with seven now recovered. Overall, Dresden's gallery lost approximately 500 pieces in the conflict. Separately, a recently rediscovered still life by 17th-century French painter Lubin Baugin, 'Nature morte aux financiers,' sold for €440,000 at Vichy Enchères on August 16, 2025, doubling its estimate and setting a record for the artist. Baugin's works have gained attention, including a 2023 sale to the Louvre. Additionally, the Friends of the Pinakothek der Moderne celebrated their 60th anniversary with a benefit auction on November 15, featuring Peter Halley's Neo-Geo painting 'Dada Ji,' expected to fetch at least €140,000. In Cologne, Breker auction house sold a rare 1941 Hasselblad HK 7 aerial camera for €32,000 on September 13, far exceeding its €900 starting price.