Lucas Cranach the Elder

Also known as Lucas Cranach (I), Luca Kranack, Lucas Cranaccio, Lucas, the elder Cranach, Lucas Cranache, Lucas Kronach, Lucas, the Elder Cranach, Lukas Kranach

German painter and printmaker (1472–1553)

OverviewAI-generated

Lucas Cranach the Elder was a male painter, printmaker, graphic artist, and architectural draftsperson born in Kronach in 1472. He worked in Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Vienna, and Weimar, and was associated with the German Renaissance movement. His notable works include *Portraits of Henry IV of Saxony and Catherine of Mecklenburg*, *The Three Graces*, and *The fountain of youth*. He specialized in portrait painting, nude, religious painting, and mythological painting.

Cranach held the positions of burgomaster and court painter. He resided in the Cranachhaus and was a citizen of the Holy Roman Empire and Germany. He had five children, including Hans Cranach and Lucas Cranach the Younger, who were also his students. He died in Weimar on 16 October 1553 and was buried there. He spoke German and is described by sources such as the *Teutsche Academie der Edlen Bau- Bild- und Mahlerey-Künste* and the *Schilder-boeck*.

Synthesized by Vinony from 26 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, Firecrawl. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Described at

Home :: Cranach Digital Archive

Das Cranach Digital Archive (cda) ist eine interdisziplinäre und interinstitutionelle Forschungsressource mit kunsthistorischen, kunsttechnologischen und naturwissenschaftlichen Informationen zu den Gemälden Lucas Cranachs d. Ä. (1472 - 1553), seiner Söhne und seiner Werkstatt.

lucascranach.org →

Die offene Forschungsdatenbank zu Werken und Archivalien Lucas Cranachs d. Ä. (1472–1553), seiner Söhne und der Werkstatt. „Fantastisch ist das Projekt auch, weil Cranach selbst es wirklich zu schätzen gewusst hätte.“ Lucas Cranach der Ältere verkörpert die Ideale eines Mannes im Zeitalter der Renaissance, der neben seiner Tätigkeit als Maler, Grafiker und Buchdrucker auch als Politiker und Unternehmer tätig war. Ein von der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft gefördertes Forschungsprojekt, eine Kooperation des Germanischen Nationalmuseums in Nürnberg mit der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg und der TH Köln, hinterfragt die Authentizität der Luther-Bildnisse. Das Cranach Digital Archive zeigt, dass Kooperation eine Horizonterweiterung in der Erfassung und Interpretation von Kunstwerken ermöglicht. In Kooperation mit den Partnerinstitutionen untersuchte das Team des Cranach Digital Archive 260 Zeichnungen, 1.140 Gemälde und 2.200 Druckgraphiken in 177 Sammlungen unter Einsatz kunsthistorischer und kunsttechnologischer Forschungsmethoden. Eine Initiative des Kunstpalasts, Düsseldorf und der Technischen Hochschule Köln in Zusammenarbeit mit über 449 Museen, Bibliotheken, Forschungseinrichtungen und Kirchgemeinden in 35 Ländern.

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Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Lucas
Gender: male
Citizenship: Germany
Place of birth: Kronach
Place of death: Weimar
Occupation: publisher
Position held: burgomaster
Languages spoken: German
Religion: Lutheranism
Field of work: painting
Genre: mythological painting
Movement: German Renaissance
Image: Lucas Cranach d. Ä. 063.jpg
Number of children: 5
Work location: Weimar
Residence: Cranachhaus
Significant event: imprisonment

Show 16 more facts

date of birth: 1472-01-01
date of death: 1553-10-16
place of burial: Weimar
Commons category: Lucas Cranach (I)
Commons Creator page: Lucas Cranach (I)
topic's main category: Category:Lucas Cranach the Elder
relative: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Commons gallery: Lucas Cranach (I)
student: Lucas Cranach the Younger
described at URL: www.academia.edu/36120497/Die_heilige_Zweifaltigkeit_Apolls_Ein_Versuch_%C3%BCber_Cranachs_Cuspinian_Bildnisse
name in native language: Lucas Cranach der Ältere
has works in the collection: Memoria Chilena
P6482: Lucas Cranach the Elder
different from: Lucas Cranach the Younger
P8168: Roland Culver
influenced by: Jan Gossaert

Sources (13)

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Encyclopedic overview

Lucas Cranach the Elder (German: Lucas Cranach der Ältere [ˈluːkas ˈkʁaːnax deːɐ̯ 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 leaders of the Protestant Reformation, whose cause he embraced with enthusiasm. He was a close friend of Martin Luther, and eleven portraits of that reformer by him survive. 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 to paint nude subjects from mythology and religion throughout his career.

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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Lucas Cranach the Elder” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.