Lucas Cranach the Elder

Lucas Cranach the Elder

Born in Kronach, the city from which it derives his name, in 1472, the young Cranach, portrayed here by his son ……

… started his career as an apprentice in his father’s workshop engraver, then he lived in Vienna, where he attended humanists environments .
In that city he was one of the protagonists of the Danube School and his style, close to that of Albrecht Dürer, Albrecht Altdorfer, was characterized by the predominance of moved landscapes , almost surrealist ….

… for the attention to details and symbols, with spaces where it fits with harmony of enigmatic characters.
He settled then in Wittenberg, where he was protected by the Elector of Saxony, Frederick the Wise
Sensitive to the influence of the style of late Gothic, he ranged from painting to engraving, portraits …

… to sacred themes, such as the Feast of Herod …

… to those mythological … ..

… to the naked ideals … ..

…. to historical figures like Lucrezia

…. from hunting scenes to Lutheran electioneering, as evidenced by the portraits of Luther and Melanchthon …… ..

The protection of Frederick the Wise allowed him to paint without consequences, in addition to the naked bodies ….

………… also subject clearly ambiguous to the moral  of the era, like “The young boy and the old lady” …

… He was the father of Lucas Cranach the Younger, and he died in Weimar in 1553.

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