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Sophie of Mecklenburg, also spelled ''Sophia'' (18 December 1481 – 12 July 1503 in Torgau) was a German noblewoman. She was a Duchess of Mecklenburg by birth and by marriage Electoral Princess of Saxony.
Sophie died shortly after the birth of her son before her husband became Elector. She was buried in the city church of St. Mary in Torgau. Her bronze grave plate was crafted by Peter Vischer the Elder in his workshop in Nuremberg, after a design by Jacopo de' Barbari.
Her widow and his brother Frederick the Wise found an altar in her memory. It was dedicated to
File: Sophie1503gesamt.JPG , The grave in the south aisle; Cranach's ''Fourteen Holy Helpers'' can be seen behind the grave
File: Sophie1503Platte.JPG , Grave plate
File: Sophie1503Coa.JPG , Coat of arms
Online
* Peter Findeisen, Heinrich Magirius (eds.): ''Die Denkmale der Stadt Torgau'', in the series ''Die Denkmale im Bezirk Leipzig'', Seemann, Leipzig, 1976 * Ingetraut Ludolphy: ''Friedrich der Weise, Kurfürst von Sachsen. 1463–1525'', Göttingen, 1984,
Life
Sophie was the third of seven children and the second daughter of Duke Magnus II of Mecklenburg and his wife Sophie of Pomerania. On 1 March 1500, she married Electoral Prince John of Saxony. John and Sophie had a son together: * John Frederick I (1503–1554), succeed his father as Elector of Saxony, married in 1527 to Sibylle of Cleves (1512–1554)
Sophie died shortly after the birth of her son before her husband became Elector. She was buried in the city church of St. Mary in Torgau. Her bronze grave plate was crafted by Peter Vischer the Elder in his workshop in Nuremberg, after a design by Jacopo de' Barbari.
Her widow and his brother Frederick the Wise found an altar in her memory. It was dedicated to Saint Anne
According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...
and the Fourteen Holy Helpers, and was inaugurated on 18 July 1505. The brother commissioned an altar piece from Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is know ...
. A triptych which is now on display at the Städel
The Städel, officially the ''Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie'', is an art museum in Frankfurt, with one of the most important collections in Germany. The Städel Museum owns 3,100 paintings, 660 sculptures, more than 4,600 ...
Museum in Frankfurt and is known as the ''Torgau Altarpiece'', is generally believed to be this altarpiece.Eva Mongi-Vollmer: ''Meisterwerke im Städel Museum'', Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, 2007, p. 90 Another painting by Cranach, a compact representation of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, remained in Torgau, and is now placed behind her grave.
Footnotes
References
*Friedrich Wigger
Friedrich Wigger (17 June 1825 - 24 September 1886) was a north German archivist. During the second half of the nineteenth century he served as archivist in charge of the "Großherzogliche Geheime und Hauptarchiv Schwerin in Mecklenburg", the ...
: ''Stammtafeln des Großherzoglichen Hauses von Meklenburg'', in: ''Jahrbücher des Vereins für Mecklenburgische Geschichte und Altertumskunde'', vol. 50, 1885, p. 111-326Online
* Peter Findeisen, Heinrich Magirius (eds.): ''Die Denkmale der Stadt Torgau'', in the series ''Die Denkmale im Bezirk Leipzig'', Seemann, Leipzig, 1976 * Ingetraut Ludolphy: ''Friedrich der Weise, Kurfürst von Sachsen. 1463–1525'', Göttingen, 1984,
External links
* House of Mecklenburg German duchesses German princesses 1481 births 1503 deaths 15th-century German women 15th-century German people {{Germany-duchess-stub