Lucas Cranach the Elder (German: Lucas Cranach der Ältere German pronunciation: [ˈluːkas ˈkʁaːnax dɛɐ̯ ˈʔɛltəʁə], c. 1472 – 16 October 1553) 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 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.

ID: 191748

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No work is clearly identified by Cranach before he went to Vienna at age 30; he may be the creator of earlier works currently attributed to various anonymous masters. He is best known for influential scenes with landscapes incorporating remarkable effects of distance and atmosphere and for his popular woodcuts. He is sometimes mistakenly associated with the surname of "Sunder" or "Sonder," the family with this name being related to Lucas Cranach through marriage and also having come from the town of Kronach.

ID: 500115364

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