Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

and

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

. He was

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

to the

Electors of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German princes and those of the leaders of the Protestant

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, whose cause he embraced with enthusiasm. He was a close friend of

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

. Cranach also painted religious subjects, first in the Catholic tradition, and later trying to find new ways of conveying

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

religious concerns in art. He continued throughout his career to paint nude subjects drawn from

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

and religion. Cranach had a large workshop and many of his works exist in different versions; his son

Lucas Cranach the Younger Lucas Cranach the Younger (german: Lucas Cranach der Jüngere ; October 4, 1515 – January 25, 1586) was a German Renaissance painter and portraitist, the son of Lucas Cranach the Elder and brother of Hans Cranach. Life and career Lucas Cranach ...

and others continued to create versions of his father's works for decades after his death. He has been considered the most successful German artist of his time.

Early life

He was born at

Kronach Kronach ( East Franconian: ''Gronich'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, located in the Frankenwald area. It is the capital of the district Kronach. Kronach is the birthplace of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Maximilian von Welsch, as well ...

in upper

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

(now central

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

), probably in 1472. His exact date of birth is unknown. He learned the art of drawing from his father ''Hans Maler'' (his surname meaning "painter" and denoting his profession, not his ancestry, after the manner of the time and class). His mother, with surname Hübner, died in 1491. Later, the name of his birthplace was used for his surname, another custom of the times. How Cranach was trained is not known, but it was probably with local south German masters, as with his contemporary

Matthias Grünewald Matthias Grünewald ( – 31 August 1528) was a German Renaissance painter of religious works who ignored Renaissance classicism to continue the style of late medieval Central European art into the 16th century. His first name is also given ...

, who worked at Bamberg and

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the Aschaffenburg (district), district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative sea ...

(Bamberg is the capital of the diocese in which Kronach lies). There are also suggestions that Cranach spent some time in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

around 1500. From 1504 to 1520 he lived in a house on the south west corner of the marketplace in

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...

. According to Gunderam (the tutor of Cranach's children), Cranach demonstrated his talents as a painter before the close of the 15th century. His work then drew the attention of Duke Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, known as Frederick the Wise, who attached Cranach to his court in 1504. The records of

confirm Gunderam's statement to this extent: that Cranach's name appears for the first time in the public accounts on the 24 June 1504, when he drew 50 gulden for the salary of half a year, as ''pictor ducalis'' ("the duke's painter"). Cranach was to remain in the service of the Elector and his successors for the rest of his life, although he was able to undertake other work. Cranach married Barbara Brengbier, the daughter of a

burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the Gotha (district), district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine House of Wet ...

and also born there; she died at

on 26 December 1540. Cranach later owned a house at Gotha, but most likely he got to know Barbara near Wittenberg, where her family also owned a house, which later also belonged to Cranach.

Career

Lucas Cranach the Elder - Apoll und Diana in waldiger Landschaft - Google Art Project

The first evidence of Cranach's skill as an artist comes in a picture dated 1504. Early in his career he was active in several branches of his profession: sometimes a decorative painter, more frequently producing portraits and altarpieces, woodcuts, engravings, and designing the

coins A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

for the electorate. Early in the days of his official employment he startled his master's courtiers by the realism with which he painted still life, game and antlers on the walls of the country palaces at

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

and Locha; his pictures of deer and wild boar were considered striking, and the duke fostered his passion for this form of art by taking him out to the hunting field, where he sketched "his grace" running the stag, or Duke John sticking a boar. Before 1508 he had painted several altar-pieces for the

Castle Church All Saints' Church, commonly referred to as ''Schlosskirche'' (Castle Church) to distinguish it from the '' Stadtkirche'' (Town Church) of St. Mary's – and sometimes known as the Reformation Memorial Church – is a Lutheran church in Wittenberg, ...

at Wittenberg in competition with Albrecht Dürer,

Hans Burgkmair Hans Burgkmair the Elder (1473–1531) was a German painter and woodcut printmaker. Background Hans Burgkmair was born in Augsburg, the son of painter Thomas Burgkmair. His own son, Hans the Younger, later became a painter as well. From 1488, Bu ...

and others; the duke and his brother John were portrayed in various attitudes and a number of his best woodcuts and copper-plates were published. In 1509 Cranach went to the Netherlands, and painted the Emperor Maximilian and the boy who afterwards became Emperor Charles V. Until 1508 Cranach signed his works with his initials. In that year the elector gave him the winged snake as an emblem, or Kleinod, which superseded the initials on his pictures after that date. Portrait of Frederick the Wise by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Portrait of Frederick the Wise by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Cranach was the court painter from 1505 to 1550 to the electors of Saxony in Wittenberg, an area in the heart of the emerging

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

faith. His patrons were powerful supporters of

, and Cranach used his art as a symbol of the new faith. Cranach made numerous portraits of Luther, and provided woodcut illustrations for Luther's German translation of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. Somewhat later the duke conferred on him the

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

of the sale of medicines at Wittenberg, and a printer's patent with exclusive privileges as to

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

s. Cranach's presses were used by Martin Luther. His apothecary shop was open for centuries, and was only lost by fire in 1871. Cranach, like his patron, was friendly with the Protestant Reformers at a very early stage; yet it is difficult to fix the time of his first meeting with Martin Luther. The oldest reference to Cranach in Luther's correspondence dates from 1520. In a letter written from

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...

in 1521, Luther calls him his "gossip", warmly alluding to his "Gevatterin", the artist's wife. Cranach first made an engraving of Luther in 1520, when Luther was an Augustinian

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

; five years later, Luther renounced his religious vows, and Cranach was present as a witness at the betrothal festival of Luther and

Katharina von Bora Katharina von Bora (; 29 January 1499 – 20 December 1552), after her wedding Katharina Luther, also referred to as "die Lutherin" ("the Lutheress"), was the wife of Martin Luther, German reformer and a seminal figure of the Protestant Reform ...

. He was also godfather to their first child, Johannes "Hans" Luther, born 1526. In 1530 Luther lived at the citadel of

Veste Coburg The Veste Coburg (Coburg Fortress) is one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses of Germany. It is situated on a hill above the town of Coburg, in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria. Geography Location Veste Coburg dominates the town of C ...

under the protection of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and his room is preserved there along with a painting of him. The Dukes became noted collectors of Cranach's work, some of which remains in the family collection at Callenberg Castle. D 2363 2 Print 890kopie

The death in 1525 of the Elector

Frederick the Wise Frederick III (17 January 1463 – 5 May 1525), also known as Frederick the Wise ( German ''Friedrich der Weise''), was Elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, who is mostly remembered for the worldly protection of his subject Martin Luther. Frede ...

and Elector

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

's in 1532 brought no change in Cranach's position; he remained a favourite with

John Frederick I John Frederick I (30 June 1503 in Torgau – 3 March 1554 in Weimar), called the Magnanimous, was the Elector of Saxony (1532–1547) and head of the Schmalkaldic League. Early years John Frederick was the eldest son of Elector John by his firs ...

, under whom he twice (1531 and 1540) filled the office of burgomaster of

. In 1547, John Frederick was taken prisoner at the

Battle of Mühlberg The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmalk ...

, and Wittenberg was besieged. As Cranach wrote from his house to the grand-master

Albert, Duke of Prussia Albert of Prussia (german: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the s ...

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

to tell him of John Frederick's capture, he showed his attachment by saying,

I cannot conceal from your Grace that we have been robbed of our dear prince, who from his youth upwards has been a true prince to us, but God will help him out of prison, for the Kaiser is bold enough to revive the Papacy, which God will certainly not allow.

During the siege Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, remembered Cranach from his childhood and summoned him to his camp at Pistritz. Cranach came, and begged on his knees for kind treatment for Elector John Frederick. Three years afterward, when all the dignitaries of the Empire met at

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

to receive commands from the emperor, and

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

came at Charles's bidding to paint King Philip II of Spain, John Frederick asked Cranach to visit the city; and here for a few months he stayed in the household of the captive elector, whom he afterward accompanied home in 1552. He died at age 81 on October 16, 1553, at

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, where the house in which he lived still stands in the marketplace. He was buried in the

Jacobsfriedhof The Jacobsfriedhof, also known as the Jakobskirchhof ("St. James's Burial Ground" or "Churchyard"), is the oldest extant burial ground in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany, on land round the Jakobskirche (St. James's Church). The first burials took pl ...

in Weimar. Cranach had two sons, both artists:

Hans Cranach Hans Cranach (ca. 1513–1537), also known as Johann Lucas Cranach, was a German painter, the oldest son of Lucas Cranach the Elder. German art historian Johann Christian Schuchardt, who discovered his existence, credits him with an altar-piece ...

, whose life is obscure and who died at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

in 1537; and

, born in 1515, who died in 1586. He also had three daughters. One of them was Barbara Cranach, who died in 1569, married Christian Brück (Pontanus), and was an ancestor of

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

. His granddaughter married

Polykarp Leyser the Elder Polykarp (von) Leyser the Elder or Polykarp Leyser I (18 March 1552 – 22 February 1610) was a Lutheran theologian, superintendent of Braunschweig, superintendent-general of the Saxon church-circle, professor of theology at the University of Wit ...

, thus making him an ancestor of the Polykarp Leyser family of theologians.

Veneration

The Lutheran Church remembers Cranach as a great Christian on April 6 along with Dürer, and possibly

or Burgkmair.

Works and art

The oldest extant picture by Cranach is the ''Rest of the Virgin during the Flight into Egypt'', of 1504. The painting already shows remarkable skill and grace, and the pine forest in the background shows a painter familiar with the mountain scenery of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

. There is more forest gloom in landscapes of a later time. Following the huge international success of Dürer's prints, other German artists, much more than Italian ones, devoted their talents to woodcuts and engravings. This accounts for the comparative unproductiveness as painters of Albrecht Dürer and Hans Holbein the Younger, and also may explain why Cranach was not especially skilled at handling colour, light, and shade. Constant attention to contour and to black and white, as an engraver, seems to have affected his sight; and he often outlined shapes in black rather than employing modelling and

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

. The largest proportion of Cranach's output is of portraits, and it is chiefly thanks to him that we know what the German Reformers and their princely adherents looked like. He painted not only Martin Luther himself but also Luther's wife, mother and father. He also depicted leading Catholics like Albert of Brandenburg, archbishop elector of Mainz, Anthony Granvelle and the

Duke of Alva Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

. A dozen likenesses of Frederick III and his brother John are dated 1532. It is characteristic of Cranach's prolific output, and a proof that he used a large workshop, that he received payment at Wittenberg in 1533 for "sixty pairs of portraits of the elector and his brother" on one day. Inevitably the quality of such works is variable.

Religious subjects

1529 Cranach Allegorie auf Gesetz und Gnade anagoria

Cranach's religious subjects reflect the development of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

, and its attitudes to religious images. In his early career, he painted several Madonnas; his first woodcut (1505) represents the Virgin and three saints in prayer before a

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

. Later on he painted the marriage of St. Catherine, a series of

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

doms, and scenes from the Passion. After 1517 he occasionally illustrated the old subjects, but he also gave expression to some of the thoughts of the Reformers, although his portraits of reformers were more common than paintings of religious scenes. In a picture of 1518, where a dying man offers "his soul to God, his body to earth, and his worldly goods to his relations", the soul rises to meet the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

in heaven, and salvation is clearly shown to depend on faith and not on good works. Other works of this period deal with sin and divine grace. One shows Adam sitting between

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and a prophet at the foot of a tree. To the left God produces the tables of the law,

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

taste the forbidden fruit, the

serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

raises its head, and punishment manifests in the shape of death and the realm of Satan. To the right, the Conception, Crucifixion and

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

symbolize redemption, and this is duly impressed on Adam by John the Baptist. There are two examples of this composition in the galleries of

and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, both of them dated 1529. His workshop made an altarpiece with a Crucifixion scene in the centre which is now in the Kreuzkirche, Hanover. Towards the end of his life, after Luther's initial hostility to large public religious images had softened, Cranach painted a number of "Lutheran altarpieces" of the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

and other subjects, in which Christ was shown in a traditional manner, including a

halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

, but the apostles, without halos, were portraits of leading reformers. He also produced a number of violent anti-Catholic and anti-Papacy propaganda prints in a cruder style. His best known work in this vein was a series of prints for the pamphlet ''Passional Christi und Antichristi'', where scenes from the ''

Passion of Christ In Christianity, the Passion (from the Latin verb ''patior, passus sum''; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) is the short final period in the life of Jesus Christ. Depending on one's views, the "Passion" m ...

'' were matched by a print mocking practices of the Catholic clergy, so that Christ driving the money-changers from the Temple was matched by the Pope, or

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...

, signing indulgences over a table spread with cash (see gallery below). Some of the prints were echoed by paintings, such as his '' Adoration of the Shepherds'' (c. 1517). One of his last works is the altarpiece, completed after his death by Lucas Cranach the Younger in 1555, for the Stadtkirche (city church) at

. The iconography is original and unusual: Christ is shown twice, to the left trampling on Death and Satan, to the right crucified, with blood flowing from the lance wound.

points to the suffering Christ, whilst the blood-stream falls on the head of a portrait of Cranach, and Luther reads from his book the words, "The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin." File:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. - The Lamentation of Christ - The Schleißheim Crucifixion - Alte Pinakothek.jpg , ''Crucifixion of Christ'', 1503 File:Cranach Madonna under the fir tree.jpg, ''Madonna under the fir tree'', 1510, Archdiocesan Museum,

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

File:Måleri, religiös bild. Cranach - Skoklosters slott - 88957.tif, ''The Birth of John the Baptist'', 1518 File:Infant Jesus and John the Baptist as child.jpg, ''Infant Jesus and John the Baptist as child'' File:Herderkirche Weimar Cranach Altarpiece.jpg, The Herderkirche Weimar Cranach Altarpiece by Lucas Cranach the Elder and finished by his son

in 1555 after his father's death.

Mythological scenes

Cranach was equally successful in a series of paintings of mythological scenes which nearly always feature at least one slim female figure, naked but for a transparent drape or a large hat. These are mostly in narrow upright formats; examples are several of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

, alone or with Cupid, who has sometimes stolen a honeycomb, and complains to Venus that he has been stung by a bee (Weimar, 1530; Berlin, 1534). Other such subjects are the Three Graces, Diana with

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

, shooting a bow, and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

sitting at the spinning-wheel mocked by

Omphale In Greek mythology, Omphale (; Ancient Greek: Ὀμφάλη) was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. Diodorus Siculus provides the first appearance of the Omphale theme in literature, though Aeschylus was aware of the episode. The Gree ...

and her maids. A similar approach was taken with the biblical subjects of Salome and

. He and his workshop also painted more than sixty versions of

Lucretia According to Roman tradition, Lucretia ( /luːˈkriːʃə/ ''loo-KREE-shə'', Classical Latin: ʊˈkreːtɪ.a died c. 510 BC), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) and subseq ...

, the self-stabbing pagan heroine whose death sparked the Roman Republic. File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Amor beklagt sich bei Venus (National Gallery, London).jpg, '' Cupid complaining to Venus'', c. 1525 File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Venus mit Cupid als Honigdieb (Galleria Borghese).jpg, '' Venus and Cupid with a Honeycomb'', c. 1527 File:Lucas Cranach (I) - Venus and Cupid (1529) - National Gallery London.jpg, ''Venus and Cupid'', 1529 File:Lucas Cranach the Elder - Venus with Cupid Stealing Honey - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Venus and Amor'', 1530 File:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. - Venus and Cupid - WGA05644.jpg, ''Venus with Cupid stealing honey'', 1531 File:Bemberg Fondation Toulouse - Vénus et Cupidon - Lucas Cranach (I) - 1531 Inv.1015.jpg, ''Venus with Cupid'', 1531 File:Lucas Cranach the Elder - Venus - Google Art Project.jpg, ''

'', 1532 File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Caritas (Koninklijk Museum v. Schone Kunsten Antwerpen).jpg, ''

Caritas (Lucas Cranach the Elder) ''Caritas'' is an oil on panel painting by Germanic peoples, German painter Lucas Cranach the Elder. The painting is kept in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp. Background Cranach, who has been has been cre ...

'', ca. 1537 File:Judgement of Paris by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1528).jpg, Judgement of Paris (1528) Lucas Cranach - Der Jungbrunnen (Gemäldegalerie Berlin)

Lucas Cranach - Der Jungbrunnen (Gemäldegalerie Berlin)

These subjects were produced early in his career, when they show Italian influences including that of Jacopo de' Barberi, who was at the court of Saxony for a period up to 1505. They then become rare until after the death of Frederick the Wise. The later nudes are in a distinctive style which abandons Italian influence for a revival of Late Gothic style, with small heads, narrow shoulders, high breasts and waists. The poses become more frankly seductive and even exhibitionist. Humour and pathos are combined at times in pictures such as ''Jealousy'' (Augsburg, 1527; Vienna, 1530), where women and children are huddled into groups as they watch the strife of men wildly fighting around them. A lost canvas of 1545 is said to show hares catching and roasting hunters. In 1546, possibly under Italian influence, Cranach composed the ''Fons Juventutis'' (''

The Fountain of Youth The Fountain of Youth is a mythical spring which allegedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in the writings of Herod ...

''), executed by his son, a picture in which older women are seen entering a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

fountain, and exiting it transformed into youthful beauties.

Paintings

Portraits

Lucas Cranach the Elder - Duke Henry the Pious - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Duke Henry the Pious'', 1514 Attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder Portrait of the Duchess Catherine Thielska 78.tif, ''

Catherine of Mecklenburg Catherine of Mecklenburg (1487 – 6 June 1561, Torgau), was a Duchess of Saxony by marriage to Henry IV, Duke of Saxony. She was the daughter of the Duke Magnus II of Mecklenburg and Sophie of Pomerania-Stettin. Life She married on 6 July ...

'', 1514 Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Bildnis einer jungen Frau (Galleria degli Uffizi).jpg, '' Sybille'', 1530s 1516 Emilia.jpg, '' Emilie'', c. 1535 File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Porträt eines sächsischen Prinzen.jpg, ''Portrait of a Saxon Prince'' (possibly Johann, husband of Elizabeth of Hesse), c. 1517 File:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. 052.jpg, ''Portrait of a Saxon Princess'' (possibly George of Saxony's daughter-in-law Elizabeth of Hesse), c. 1517 File:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. 044FXD.jpg, ''John Frederick I'', 1531 File:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. 040.jpg, ''

Sibylle of Cleves Sibylle of Cleves (17 January 1512 – 21 February 1554) was electress consort of Saxony. Born in Düsseldorf,At the time, the area was in the Duchy of Berg. she was the eldest daughter of John III of the House of La Marck, Duke of Jülich ...

'', wife of John Frederick I, 1526 File:LucasCranachtheElderCuspinian.jpg, '' Johannes Cuspinian'', 1502 File:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. 036.jpg, Johannes Cuspinian's wife, 1502 File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Bildnis des Lukas Spielhausen.jpg, '' Lukas Spielhausen'', 1532, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Bildnis des Markgrafen Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach (Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum).jpg, ''

Albert of Prussia Albert of Prussia (german: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the s ...

'', 1528, Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum

Religion, mythology, allegory

File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Venus mit Cupid als Honigdieb (Galleria Borghese).jpg, '' Venus and Cupid with a Honeycomb'', c. 1527 File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Das Martyrium der Heiligen Barbara.jpg, '' The Martyrdom of Saint Barbara'', 1510, Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Cranach, Lucas, d.Ä. - Die Heilige Dorothea - c. 1530.jpg, ''Dorothea'', c. 1530 File:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. - Judith Victorious - WGA05720.jpg, '' Judith with the head of

Holofernes In the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, Holofernes ( grc, Ὀλοφέρνης; he, הולופרנס) was an invading Assyrian general known for having been beheaded by Judith, a Hebrew widow who entered his camp and beheaded him while he was ...

'', 1530 File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Simson bezwingt den Löwen.jpg, ''

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

's Fight with the Lion'', 1525 File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Phyllis und Aristotle (1530).jpg, ''Phyllis and Aristotle'', 1530 File:Gerechtigkeit-1537.jpg, ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

'', 1537 File:Bemberg_fondation_Toulouse_-_Les_amoureux_-_Lucas_Cranach_l'Ancien.jpg, ''Lovers'', Bemberg Foundation, Toulouse File:Cranach Eve.jpg, ''Eve'',

National Museum, Wrocław The National Museum in Wrocław ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu), established 28 March 1947 and officially inaugurated on 11 July 1948, is one of Poland's main branches of the National Museum system. It holds one of the largest collections of ...

File:CranachBrandenburgasJerome.jpg, ''Saint Jerome in His Study'', 1526

Looted Cranachs

The Nazis had a particular affection for Cranach's work and looted many paintings during the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. This has led to claims for restitution, notably from Jewish collectors who were persecuted or looted by the Nazis. The Nazis looted Cranach's Portrait of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (around 1530s) from Jewish art collector Fritz Gutmann before murdering him but the painting was recovered by Gutmann's grandson Simon Goodman eighty years later after decades of searching. Cranach's "Cupid Complaining to Venus" passed through in Hitler's personal collection, causing the National Gallery to research its history, suspecting that it may have been looted. The diptych ''Adam and Eve'' by Lucas Cranach the Elder has been the focus of a legal dispute between the heirs of the former owner, Dutch art collector Jacques Goudstikker, and the

Norton Simon museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton Si ...

in California. In 1999, the Commission for Art Recovery of the World Jewish Congress notified the

North Carolina Museum of Art The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) is an art museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It opened in 1956 as the first major museum collection in the country to be formed by state legislation and funding. Since the initial 1947 appropriation that e ...

that its prized Cranach Madonna and Child had been looted by Nazis from the Jewish Viennese art collector Philipp von Gomperz. On 20 October 2000 a Budapest court ruled that a Cranach and other paintings claimed by the granddaughter of famous Hungarian Jewish art collector Baron Herzog that were looted by Nazis with the Hungarian financial police should be returned to her. In 2012 the heirs of Rosa and Jakob Oppenheimer submitted a claim to the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...

for a Cranach painting of Saint Christopher. The museum hired a private provenance researcher, Laurie Stein, to investigate the circumstance of the sale in 1934, and she concluded that the Cranach had not been sold under duress by the Jewish owners. In April 2021 Cranach's "The Resurrection" was sold at auction following a settlement between the heirs of Holocaust victim

Margarete Eisenmann Margarete Eisenmann (1868-1942 in Treblinka concentration camp) was a Jewish art collector who was murdered in the Holocaust Life Eisenmann(1868-1942) was born in Berlin. Her father was de Wilhelm (Wolf) von Ledermann-Wartberg and her mother wa ...

and the art dealer Eugene Thaw. After being looted, the Cranach had been consigned to Sothebys by Hans Lange and passed through

Hugo Perls Hugo Perls (24 May 1886–1977 was an international art dealer, historian, philosopher and notable collector born in Rybnik in Upper Silesia. During his lifetime, he witnessed his homeland change from its German origins to Polish. He studied law, p ...

and Knoedler Galleries before being acquired by Eugene Thaw. Most of the lawsuits last many years and go through several appeals in different courts.

References

External links

*
cranach.net
Containing more than 15000 images and 6000 research documents, collaborative project by about 60 international art historians

Containing images and research information, collaborative project by 26 international galleries *
Fifteenth- to eighteenth-century European paintings: France, Central Europe, the Netherlands, Spain, and Great Britain
a collection catalog fully available online as a PDF, which contains material on Lucas Cranach the Elder (cat. no. 9)
''Prints & People: A Social History of Printed Pictures''
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Lucas Cranach the Elder (see index) * Discussion of ''Portrait of Martin Luther'' by

Janina Ramirez Janina Sara Maria Ramirez (; ' Maleczek; born 7 July 1980), sometimes credited as Nina Ramirez, is a British art historian, cultural historian, and TV presenter. She specialises in interpreting symbols and examining works of art within their hi ...

and

Peter Stanford Peter James Stanford (born 23 November 1961) is an English writer, editor, journalist and presenter, known for his biographies and writings on religion and ethics. His biography of Lord Longford was the basis for the 2006 BAFTA-winning film '' ...

Art Detective Podcast, 26 April 2017Cranach map of Palestine, 1508 or 1515.
Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, the

National Library of Israel The National Library of Israel (NLI; he, הספרייה הלאומית, translit=HaSifria HaLeumit; ar, المكتبة الوطنية في إسرائيل), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; he, בית הספרים הלא� ...

*Joshua P. Waterman,
''Portrait of Joachim II of Brandenburg'' by Lucas Cranach the Elder (cat. 739)
" in '' The John G. Johnson Collection: A History and Selected Works'', a Philadelphia Museum of Art free digital publication.
Critical Catalogue of Luther portraits (1519 - 1530)
Results of the research project, 2018-2021,

Germanisches Nationalmuseum The Germanisches National Museum is a museum in Nuremberg, Germany. Founded in 1852, it houses a large collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from prehistoric times through to the present day. The Germanisches National ...

/ Cranach Digital Archive / University of Erlangen-Nuremberg / Cologne Institute of Conservation Sciences / Technical University of Cologne. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cranach, Lucas, The Elder 1472 births 1553 deaths German Lutherans People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar German portrait painters German Renaissance painters German printmakers Anglican saints Court painters Cranach family