Lucas Cranach the Elder was a German Renaissance painter and graphic artist
who excelled in portraits and in female nudes. Cranach, whose original
name may have been Lucas Muller or Sunder, was born on October 4, 1472,
in Kranach, Franconia, from which he took his surname (Stepanov 10).
Very little is known of his life before about 1500-01, when he settled
in Vienna and started working in the humanist circles associated with the
newly founded university. It is believed that Cranach studied painting
with his father, and from about 1501-1504 he lived in Vienna, and his earliest
known works date from this period (Stepanov 12). They include portraits,
notably those of Johannes Cuspinian, a lecturer at the university, and
his wife Anna, and several religious works in which he shows a remarkable
feeling for the beauty of landscape characteristic of the Danube school
(Friedlander 8) . One of the best examples of this style was The
Rest on the Flight to Egypt, which was painted in 1504, and shows great
detail and landscape characteristic of the Danube school. His work
at this time, lyrical and spirited with landscape setting, was influenced
by Albrecht Durer (Friedlander 16).
In 1505 Cranach became court painter to the electors of Saxony at Wittenberg,
a position he held until 1550 (Stepanov 16). He was a prominent citizen
in Wittenberg, received a title, and became mayor in 1537 (Stepanov 17).
In 1508 he visited the Netherlands, where he painted portraits of such
royalty as Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and the young prince who succeeded
him as Charles V. For his electoral patrons he painted biblical and
mythological scenes with decorative sensual nudes that were new to German
painting (Friedlander 20). These paintings include many versions
of Adam and Eve, The Judgement of Paris (1529, Metropolitan Museum, New
York City), and Venus and Armor (1531, Musees Royaux des Beaus-Arts, Brussels)
(Friedlander 30).
Cranach was a friend of Martin Luther, and his art expresses much of the
spirit and feeling of the German Reformation (Friedlander 26). Cranach
propogandized for the Protestant cause in many portraits, woodcuts, and
engravings. His portraits of Protestant leaders, including many versions
of Luther and Duke Henry of Saxony, are sober and meticulously drawn (Friedlander
31). Cranach ran a large workshop and worked with great speed, producing
hundreds of works in his lifetime. He died in Weimar, on October
15, 1553. Cranach's sons were both artists, but the only one to achieve
distinction was Lucas Cranach the Younger, who was his father's pupil and
often his assistant.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY:
1472- Born in Kronach, Upper Franconia
1502-1504- Cranach resides in Vienna. The Elector Frederick the Wise summons Cranach to Wittenberg as court painter.
1519- Cranach becomes a city councilman.
1525- Acting on his behalf as suitor, Cranach presents Luther's proposal of marriage to Kathrina von Bora and is Luther's witness at the wedding.
1537- First tenure as Wittenberg's mayor
1551- Cranch moves to Innsbruck
1552- Cranach moves to Weimar
1553- On October 15, Cranach passes away in
Weimar.
INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT LUCAS CRANACH
the ELDER??
GO TO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
LINKS FOR A MORE IN DEPTH LOOK.
Friedlander, Max J., 1867-1958. The Paintings of Lucas Cranach. Rev. ed. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell
University Press, 1978. 8-31.
Stepanov, Alexander. Lucas Crancah the Elder: 1473-1552. Great Painters. Bournemouth, England:
Parkstone, 1997. 10-17.