Cranach the Elder

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker, a major figure of the Saxon school. Born in Kronach, Franconia, he settled in Wittenberg in 1505 where he became court painter to the Electors of Saxony, a position he would hold for nearly fifty years. A close friend of Martin Luther, whose portrait he painted several times, he became the principal artist of the Protestant Reformation, illustrating its ideas through his works while continuing to paint Catholic religious and mythological subjects. His style is characterized by elegant compositions, elongated figures with mannered poses, and a refined treatment of details, particularly in the representation of female nudes and sumptuous costumes. Among his most famous works are “Venus and Cupid,” “Judith with the Head of Holofernes,” “Adam and Eve,” and numerous portraits of Protestant reformers. At the head of a prolific workshop that employed his two sons, also painters, he left a considerable output of more than 400 paintings and became one of the most influential artists of the German Renaissance.

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