Spring Nymph at the Fountain

Spring Nymph at the Fountain
Quellnymphe am Brunnen (German)
ArtistLucas Cranach the Elder
Year1518
MediumOil on panel
SubjectNymph, fountain
Dimensions59 cm × 91.5 cm (23 in × 36.0 in)
LocationMuseum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig

The Spring Nymph at the Fountain (German: Quellnymphe am Brunnen) is the earliest example of a series of paintings by Renaissance artists Lucas Cranach the Elder and Lucas Cranach the Younger, depicting a resting spring nymph. There are at least 24 versions[1] that were made in the Cranach workshop in Wittenberg. It is sometimes difficult to determine to what extent the master himself painted.

The first was painted in 1518 and is in the Museum der bildenden Künste in Leipzig, Germany. The version in the National Museum of Norway in Oslo from 1550 is attributed to the son Lucas Cranach the Younger, who worked in his father's workshop and later took it over.

Description

In the foreground, a completely unclothed woman lies across the entire width of the picture, the hand of her bent right arm at the nape of her neck. The legs are crossed. All the details of the flawlessly depicted body are clearly visible. In the left half of the picture, directly behind the woman's upper body, there is the regular rectangle of a fountain. The woman lies on a crimson blanket, the drapery of which is worked out in detail. On the fountain is the following Latin inscription:

FONTIS NYMPHA SACRI SOMNVM / NE RVMPE QVIESCO.

I am the nymph of the holy spring, do not wake me, I rest.[2]

The gaze from half-closed eyes is directed at the viewer. In the background is a landscape and a small section of sky with a threatening rain cloud.

Interpretation

The painting is considered the first "reclining female nude in landscape" north of the Alps.[3] It has been compared to Giorgione's Sleeping Venus, whose motif bears a close resemblance to the Resting Spring Nymph. Another source refers to a woodcut illustration in the allegorical novel Hypnerotomachia Poliphili,[4] published in Venice in 1499, which could have served as a model.

The painting is attributed to the genre of mythological painting, in which classical themes and figures are taken up. In the present case, it is the figure of the Nymph of Castalia. The Castalian Spring is a fountain where ancient poets and philosophers came to drink to find inspiration.[5][6] The landscape in the background also corresponds to the style of mythological paintings.

However, the painting's inherent attitude to reality and nature and the restrained sensuality of the sleeping female nude go beyond the attitude of classical antiquity.[4] The Cranach workshop has produced numerous revealing depictions of women, such as Cupid Complaining to Venus, Judgment of Paris, The Three Graces – all with mythological undertones to cover up the erotic.

In the version La ninfa de la fuente (ca. 1530–34), which can be seen in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, the spring nymph wears nothing but jewellery and a transparent veil that conceals nothing and, on the contrary, draws attention to nudity. A bow and quiver hang from a tree, indicating that she belongs to the entourage of Diana, the goddess of the hunt. Another interpretation is that the bow belongs to Cupid, the companion of Venus. Below the tree are two partridges, which are usually considered to be birds of Venus. In the background there is a waterspring, and in the upper left corner a Cartellino with the same Latin text as in the picture of 1518.[7]

According to Greek mythology, nymphs lived as goddesses of the great outdoors on mountains and trees, in the sea, in grottos and in springs, and any mortal who came too close to them was in danger. The gloomy clouds in the evening sky in the painting from 1518 also allow the viewer who is not familiar with Latin to feel something of the eerie, dramatic warning of the fountain inscription.[4] All images in the series contain such an "interplay between seduction and warning".[2]

Versions

Image Title Year Material Size (cm) Collection
Liegende Quellnymphe 1518 Oil on wood 59 × 92 Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig[8][9][10]
Quellnymphe c. 1515–1520 Oil on wood 58,1 × 86,7 Jagdschloss Grunewald, Berlin[11][12]
Quellnymphe (schlummernde Diana) c. 1525 Oil on wood 15 × 15 Veste Coburg, Bayern|[13]
La ninfa de la fuente c. 1530–1534 Oil on wood 75 × 120 Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid[14]
The Nymph of the Fountain 1534 Oil on wood 64 × 90 Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool[15][16]
La Nymphe à la source c. 1537 Oil on wood 48,5 × 74,2 Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie, Besançon[17]
The Nymph of the Spring
 after 1537 Oil on wood 48,4 × 72,8 National Gallery of Art, Washington[18]
Quellnymphe
 after 1537 Oil on wood 34,3 × 56 Kunsthalle Bremen[19]
The Nymph of the Spring
attributed to Lucas Cranach the Younger		 c. 1540 Oil on wood 58 × 79 San Diego Museum of Art (since 2018)[20][21]
The Nymph of the Spring c. 1540–1545 Oil on wood 82.1 × 120.5 Private collection[22]
Hvilende kildenymfe
attributed to Lucas Cranach the Younger		 1550 Oil on wood 71.5 × 122 National Museum, Oslo[23][24]

Other

In 1972, the Deutsche Post of the GDR issued a postage stamp with the painting in the 1518 version.

Bibliograpy

  • Kluttig-Altmann, Ralf (2017). "Erhitzte Damen. Das Frauenbild auf Wittenberger Renaissancekacheln im Kontext von Cranachwerkstatt und Reformation" [Heated Ladies. The image of women on Wittenberg Renaissance tiles in the context of Cranachwerkstatt and the Reformation.] (PDF). Historische Archäologie. Sonderband 2017. Festschrift für Andreas Heege (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  • Beckett, Wendy (1995). Bonniers stora bok om måleriets historia [Bonniers great book on the history of painting] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Bonnier Alba i samarbete med (in cooperation with) the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. ISBN 91-34-51656-5.
  • Helmut Börsch-Supan (1974). "Cranachs Quellnymphen und sein Gestaltungsprinzip der Variation" (pdf). archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  • Guido Messling, Norbert Michels. "Cranachs Darstellung des Aktes. Einflüsse und Stellenwert". wege-zu-cranach.de (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  • Tom Schwan (2015-08-25). "Die Nymphe der Reformation". prisma.de (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-05.

References

  1. ^ "CorpusCranach:Quellnymphe". cranach.ub.uni-heidelberg.de (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-05.
  2. ^ a b Kluttig-Altmann, Ralf (2017). "Erhitzte Damen. Das Frauenbild auf Wittenberger Renaissancekacheln im Kontext von Cranachwerkstatt und Reformation" [Heated Ladies. The image of women on Wittenberg Renaissance tiles in the context of Cranachwerkstatt and the Reformation.] (PDF). Historische Archäologie. Sonderband 2017. Festschrift für Andreas Heege (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  3. ^ Kluttig-Altmann, Ralf (2017), S. 249
  4. ^ a b c Susanne Heiland (1987). "Die Kunst der Reformationszeit". In Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig (ed.). Museum in der DDR. Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig (1. ed.). Leipzig: Edition Leipzig. p. 24. ISBN 3-36100143-9.
  5. ^ VV. AA. (2010). Mitología clásica e iconografía cristiana (in Spanish). R. Areces. p. 92. ISBN 978-84-8004-942-9.
  6. ^ Pierre Commelin (2017). Mitología griega y romana: El gran clásico de la literatura mitológica ahora recuperado (in Spanish). La Esfera de los Libros. ISBN 9788491640707. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  7. ^ "Web Gallery of Art". Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  8. ^ "Reclining River Nymph at the Fountain". wga.hu. Web Gallery of Art. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  9. ^ "Quellnymphe am Brunnen". lucascranach.org (in German). Stiftung Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf / Technische Hochschule Köln. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  10. ^ "Liegende Quellnymphe". bildindex.de Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  11. ^ "Quellnymphe". bildindex.de Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  12. ^ "Quellnymphe". lucascranach.org (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  13. ^ "Quellnymphe (schlummernde Diana)". bildindex.de Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  14. ^ "The Nymph at the Fountain". museothyssen.org. Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  15. ^ "The Nymph of the Fountain". liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. National Museums Liverpool. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  16. ^ "The Nymph of the Fountain". artsandculture.google.com. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  17. ^ "Quellnymphe". lucascranach.org (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  18. ^ "The Nymph of the Spring". nga.gov. National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  19. ^ "Werk - Quellnymphe". onlinekatalog.kunsthalle-bremen.de (in German). Kunsthalle Bremen. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  20. ^ "Nymph of the Spring". collection.sdmart.org. San Diego Museum of Art. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  21. ^ "Liegende Quellnymphe". lucascranach.org (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  22. ^ "LUCAS CRANACH THE ELDER (KRONACH 1472-1553 WEIMAR), The Nymph of the Spring". Christie's. 2022-07-07. Retrieved 2026-05-24.
  23. ^ "Liegende Quellnymphe". lucascranach.org (in German). Retrieved 2026-02-04.
  24. ^ "Reclining Fountain Nymph". nasjionalmuseet.no. Nationalmuseum Oslo. Retrieved 2026-02-04.
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