Lucas Cranach the Elder

Lucas Cranach the Elder was a leading German painter and printmaker of the early 16th century. Renowned for his portraits and religious altarpieces, Cranach was one of the most prominent artists associated with the Protestant Reformation.

Born Lucas Maler in 1472, the artist later took the name of his birthplace Kronach, in Upper Franconia. His father, Hans Maler, was also an artist, and it’s thought that Cranach likely trained in his workshop. In around 1500, Cranach travelled to Vienna, with the woodcuts he made during this period taking influence from the precise line work and detail of his contemporary Albrecht Dürer.

In April 1505, Cranach’s reputation brought him to Wittenberg, where he was appointed court painter to Frederick III, Elector of Saxony. Shortly after his appointment, Cranach painted Saints Christina and Ottilia (1506), which was part of a multi-panelled altarpiece.

Over the next half a century, the artist served Frederick III and his successors, producing altarpieces, murals and decorations for princely residences throughout Saxony. Though Cranach’s early works were often signed with the monogram LC, in 1508, Frederick III granted the artist a coat of arms. This led Cranach to adopt the winged serpent as his workshop emblem, which he used variations of in his paintings from 1508 onwards.

Cranach painted several portraits of his close friend Martin Luther, a seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation. Though Cranach is credited with developing the language of Protestant visual art, he did also complete commissions for the Reformation’s adversary Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg. The artist was also celebrated for his mythological works and nudes, such as Cupid complaining to Venus (c.1526–1527).

Alongside his individual masterpieces, Cranach’s legacy lies in his entrepreneurial workshop practice. His studio employed numerous assistants and his sons — including Lucas Cranach the Younger — to ensure his paintings and prints could be widely distributed.

His outpouring was prolific, with over 400 paintings having been assigned to Cranach and his studio. The artist's workshop continued after his death in 1553, with Cranach celebrated as an important figure of the Northern Renaissance.