German painter (b. 1472, Kronach, d. 1553, Weimar). German painter and engraver. The son of a painter, he settled in Wittenberg c.1504 and was court painter successively under three electors of Saxony. There he maintained a flourishing workshop and was twice burgomaster. Cranach was a close friend of Martin Luther, whose doctrine he upheld in numerous paintings and woodcuts, and he has been called the painter of the Reformation. He was a rapid and prolific painter, and the work turned out by his studio is uneven in quality. Naïve and fanciful, often awkward in draftsmanship, it has, nonetheless, freshness and originality and a warm, rich palette. His portraits are particularly successful. Among his best-known works are Repose in Egypt (Gemäldgalerie, Staatliche Mus., Berlin-Dahlem); Judgment of Paris (Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe); Adam and Eve (Courtauld Inst., London); and Crucifixion (Weimar). The latter contains figures of Luther and Cranach. His many famous protraits include those of Elector John Frederick and Self-Portrait (Uffizi). Cranach was also an accomplished miniaturist. He produced a few copperplates and designs for woodcuts. His son and pupil Lucas Cranach, the Younger, 1515C86,   Related Paintings of CRANACH, Lucas the Elder :. | The Fountain of Youth (detail) sd | The Judgment of Paris | Adam and Eve 05 | The Fountain of Youth (detail) 215 | The Rest on the Flight into Egypt dfg |
Related Artists:
Rodrigo de Villandrando
Rodrigo de Villandrando (1588 - December 1623) was a court painter during the reign of Philip III of Spain. He worked in the tradition of Alonso Senchez Coello and Juan Pantoja de la Cruz. His death opened the road to court for the young painter Diego Velezquez from Sevilla.
Hone, Nathaniel
Irish Painter, 1718-1784
Jacob Willemsz. Delff
painted Allegory of the Four Elements. in 1600