German Renaissance artist (1515?1586)
Lucas Cranach the Younger
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Portrait of a Bearded Man
(c. 1546), a possible self-portrait
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Born
| (
1515-10-04
)
October 4, 1515
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Died
| 25 January 1586
(1586-01-25)
(aged 70)
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Known for
| Painting
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Movement
| German Renaissance
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Lucas Cranach the Younger
(
German
:
Lucas Cranach der Jungere
[?luːkas
?k?aːnax
deː??
?j?ŋ???]
; October 4, 1515 ? January 25, 1586) was a German
Renaissance
painter and portraitist, the son of
Lucas Cranach the Elder
and brother of
Hans Cranach
.
Life and career
[
edit
]
Lucas Cranach the Younger was born in
Wittenberg
, Germany on October 4, 1515, the second son of
Lucas Cranach the Elder
and Barbara Brengebier. He began his career as a painter as an apprentice in his father's workshop, training alongside his older brother, Hans. Following the sudden death of Hans in 1537, Cranach the Younger would assume greater responsibilities in his father's workshop.
[1]
The
Protestant Reformation
began in Wittenberg in 1517. Cranach the Elder was friends with
Martin Luther
and became known as a leading producer of
Protestant artistic propaganda
.
[2]
In 1550, Cranach the Elder left Wittenberg to join his patron,
John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony
, in exile.
[1]
Following his father's departure, Cranach the Younger assumed full responsibility over the flourishing family workshop. In this position, he successfully maintained the workshop's high output of quality work, including images of Reformers such as
Luther himself
.
[3]
Although Cranach the Younger was never a court painter, he worked for members of the social elite, including princes and nobles. Upon his death in 1586, theologian Georg Mylius (1613?1640) stated that Cranach the Younger's work could be seen in "churches and schools, in castles and houses."
[3]
The Cranach family enjoyed a high status in Wittenberg. In addition to the painting workshop, Cranach the Younger was a successful businessman and politician. He occupied several political offices in Nuremberg commencing in 1549, when he served on the city council. He also served as Chamberlain, beginning in 1555 and Burgomaster from 1565.
[1]
[3]
On February 20, 1541, he married Barbara Bruck (daughter of
Gregor Bruck
, who was Luther's legal advisor and Cranach's neighbour in Wittenberg), with whom he had three sons and a daughter. He was also connected to the Bruck family by his sister, Barbara Cranach, who married Christian Bruck (brother of his wife). Barbara Cranach died of plague on February 10, 1550. Soon after, Cranach married Magdalena Schurff on May 24, 1551. This union produced five children, including painter
Augustin Cranach
.
[4]
His daughter Elisabeth married
Polykarp Leyser the Elder
.
Cranach the Younger died in Wittenberg on January 25, 1586, at the age of 70.
[3]
He is buried adjacent to one of his finest altarpieces in the church of St Mary, also known as
Stadtkirche Wittenberg
.
Works
[
edit
]
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Nymph of the Spring
(1545?1550)
-
Christ blessing the children
(1545?1550)
-
Christ and the adulteress
(1545?1550)
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-
Portrait of
Philipp Melanchthon
(1562)
-
Portrait of
Georg Cracow
and family
(1563)
-
-
-
Sigismund II Augustus (1553)
-
Elizabeth Habsburg
, Queen of Poland
-
Portrait of Barbara Radziwiłł, Queen of Poland
-
Portrait of Catherine of Austria, Queen of Poland
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Cranach, Lucas (The Younger)"
.
- ^
"Lucas Cranach, the Elder | German painter"
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Lamport, Mark A. (2017).
Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation
. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
ISBN
9781442271593
. Retrieved
February 18,
2019
.
- ^
Steinwachs, Albrecht (2000).
St. Mary's, the Evangelical Parish Church in Wittenberg, the Town of Luther
. Wittenberg, Germany: Edition Akanthus. p. 62.
ISBN
9783000071409
. Retrieved
February 18,
2019
.
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Lucas Cranach (II)
at Wikimedia Commons
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