

Lucas Cranach the Elder was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German princes and those of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, whose cause he embraced with enthusiasm. He was a close friend of Martin Luther. Cranach also painted religious subjects, first in the Catholic tradition, and later trying to find new ways of conveying Lutheran religious concerns in art. He continued throughout his career to paint nude subjects drawn from mythology and religion. Cranach had a large workshop and many of his works exist in different versions; his son Lucas Cranach the Younger 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. He is commemorated in the liturgical calendars of the Episcopal and Lutheran churches.
More Artwork by Lucas Cranach the Elder (View all 66 Artworks)

Melancholy (1532)

Madonna and Child (probably c. 1535 or after)

Virgin and Child Adored by the Infant St John (1512 – 1514)

Venus and Cupid (1506)

Christ Blessing the Children (1537 – 1637)

Portrait of a Man (1522)

Portrait of a Woman (1522)
More Artwork by Lucas Cranach the Elder (View all 66 Artworks)

Melancholy (1532)

Madonna and Child (probably c. 1535 or after)

Virgin and Child Adored by the Infant St John (1512 – 1514)

Venus and Cupid (1506)

Christ Blessing the Children (1537 – 1637)
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The Abduction of Rebecca (1846)

Hebe (C. 1890)

Mercury, Argus and Io (Circa 1592)
