Long-Lost Cranach Portrait of Friedrich the Wise Returns to Dresden

A miniature portrait of Friedrich III (Frederich the Wise) by Lucas Cranach the Elder, unseen since WWII, has been returned to the State Art Collections of Dresden. The small wood panel was last documented in May 1945 in a limestone quarry at Pockau-Lengefeld, used as a shelter for art. It vanished until 2024, when it was consigned to Artcurial in Paris. The painting's provenance was traced via the number 1355 painted in gold, matching an inventory from 1722–1728 when it was housed in the church of the Royal Palace. The Dreyfus family in France, its modern owners, returned it after negotiations and a financial agreement. The portrait is now on view at the Coin Cabinet of the Royal Palace in a special exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of Friedrich III's death, titled “All that Glisters is Not Gold.” It will later be permanently displayed in the Semper Gallery. Holger Jacob-Friesen, director of the Dresden Old Masters Picture Gallery, called the return a stroke of luck. The painting is one of about 25 surviving portraits of Friedrich by Cranach. The Dresden State Art Collections had listed over 500 lost paintings in 1963, including 18 from the Cranach workshop, of which seven have now been returned.