Mismatched pair

Museum Tucherschloss, HI Gm 049
Double portrait of Berthold I Tucher (1310–1379) and his wife Anna Pfinzing (c. 1340–1381)

Berthold I was the son of the earliest known representative of the Tucher family, Konrad I. (1260-1326). He was mentioned in documents from 1340 on the Small Council, was active on it until his death in 1379 and founded the family’s ancestral home on Milchmarkt (Albrecht-Dürer-Platz).

An oracle coin on Berthold I has been handed down in the "Großes Tucherbuch": His marriage to Elisabeth von Mayenthal remained childless – there was a threat of the family dying out! After her death, the 54-year-old widower was faced with the choice of entering a convent or remarrying. The tossing of a "Händleinheller" coin three times decided against the convent and for marriage. In 1365 Berthold married the young patrician’s daughter Anna Pfinzing from one of the oldest families in Nuremberg. Their sons ensured the continuation of the family and the beginning of the dynasty. The elder and younger line of the Tucher derive from them until today.

An unknown master still portrayed Berthold’s late second marriage in the 17th century. Both family crests clearly reveal the affectionately flirting couple wearing 15th-century costume to be old grey Berthold and youthful Anna – even though any physical resemblance is fictitious. There is no doubt that the double portrait picks up on the type of "odd couple" picture that was popular in the 16th century. Most notably, Lukas Cranach the Elder had depicted this theme in several variants around 1530, and his works may have served as a model.

Ulrike Berninger