Lucas Cranach (1472–1553) was a German painter and engraver.
Biography of Lucas Cranach the Elder
He was born in the town of Kronach and, apparently, got his last name from his name.
In his youth, the artist traveled along the Danube and visited Vienna, where he became interested in the work of Dürer, which, perhaps, had a certain influence on him.
In 1505, Cranach moved to Wittenberg and entered the service of Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony. There he spent most own life.
In 1508, the elector gave Cranach a coat of arms (an image of a winged dragon), and in 1512 the artist married a girl from a noble family who bore him two sons.
Cranach was a highly respected citizen, since 1519 he was regularly elected to the city council, and later became burgomaster.
In this position, in 1523, he contributed to the organization of a printing house in Wittenberg. In the service of the elector, whose court adopted the humanistic ideas of his time, the artist was successful.
The work of Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas was a close friend of Martin Luther, whose doctrine he supported in his many drawings and woodcuts.
Soon Cranach was called the artist of the Reformation. He was a fast, prolific artist. Naive, whimsical, often clumsy in his engravings, he, however, had a fresh, original style, warm, rich palette.
Cranach's portraits are extremely successful.
Among the most famous works artist: "Repose in Egypt" ( state museum Berlin), "Judgment of Paris" (Karlsruhe exhibition hall), "Adam and Eve" (Kurtold Gallery, London), "Crucifixion" (Weimar). Among famous portraits in the biography of Lucas Cranach - John Frederick, self-portrait (Uffizi). Also, the artist was a perfect master of miniatures. He made several engraving boards, designs for woodcuts.
Lucas' son and pupil, Lucas Cranach the younger (1515–86), continued his father's tradition by adopting his workshop, signature, and also popularity. Their work is often indistinguishable.
Artist's work
- Hercules at Omphale
- Madonna under the apple tree. Detail_ Madonna's head
- Resting spring nymph
- Portrait of Duchess Catherine of Mecklenburg
- Portrait of a woman
- Portrait of John Friedrich, Elector of Saxony
- Portrait of Johann Geiler von Kaisenberg
- Portrait of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg against the backdrop of a landscape in the form of St. Jerome
- Portrait of a young man in a beret
- Christmas
- St. Anne with Mary and the Christ Child
Bibliography
- A . N . Nemilov, L. Cranach the Elder. (Album), M., 1973;
- L. Cranach der dltere. Der Künstler und seine Zeit, V., 1953;
- L. Cranach. Das gesamte graphische Werk, V., 1972;
- L. Cranach. Künstler und Gesellschaft, V ., 1973 ;
- Friedländer M . J ., Rosenberg J ., The paintings of L . Cranach, L., 1978.
Translation of titles © koschey
Cranachs
(Cranach) is the nickname of two German artists, whose real name was Müller (and not Zunder, as previously assumed).
1) Lucas Cranach the Elder , famous painter and engraver, b. in Kronach, in upper Franconia, in October 1472. He received his initial art education from his father, how did he go further development- unknown. Since 1504, he lived in Wittenberg, being the court painter of Elector Frederick the Wise, who gave him the nickname Cranach and elevated him to noble dignity. On behalf of the Elector, in 1509, he traveled to the Netherlands and painted there a portrait of the young Prince Charles, later Emperor Charles V. He took an ardent part in the reform movement, scourging the abuses of the papacy in his paintings and engravings and distributing portraits of his friends, Luther and Melanchthon. The successors of Frederick the Wise, Johann the Constant and Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous, also treated the artist with great favor. In the same way, he enjoyed the trust and honor of his fellow citizens: in 1519 and 1537 he was elected to the treasurer of the city council, in 1540 - to the mayor. In 1550, he went to Augsburg to the Elector Johann-Friedrich, who was held captive there, and two years later, together with the latter, he moved to Weimar, where he died on 16 October. 1553 Works by Cranach relating to early period his activities extending up to 1520, for a long time were attributed to Grunewald (for example, "The rest of the Holy Family on the way to Egypt" - near Fiedler, in Munich, the altarpiece - in the church of St. Mary in Torgau, as well as some images in other churches and paintings in various German museums). They show the artist's dependence on the Franconian school: the composition is more thoughtful and majestic than in his subsequent works; the execution is more free and final, the coloring is warmer and more golden. The works of Cranach relating to 1520-1530 have a transitional character. The later style of the master, which is best known to us as own works, and according to the works of his students and imitators, is distinguished by the confidence of a somewhat dry and angular drawing and the routine of the composition; his male types are sometimes full of nobility, but sometimes approach caricature; female types, with their narrow waists, square heads and slanting eyes, do not fit the concept of Greek or Italian beauty. Not entirely satisfactory in his paintings and aerial perspective, and the timid reception of a sleek overlay of paints. But these shortcomings are redeemed by the comprehensibility of his work and the attractiveness of a naive-poetic understanding of nature. Best of all, he succeeded in images with a small number of figures. Cranach's portraits, in their simplicity and naive immediacy, occupy the first place. From religious paintings Cranach, in addition to the above, the most worthy of attention: "The Mother of God" (in the church of St. Jacob, in Innsbruck); "Our Lady with a Vine" (in Munich Pinakot.); "White Madonna" (in the Königsberg Cathedral); "Our Lady under the Apple Tree" and "Our Lady in the Vineyard" (both in the Imperial Hermitage, no. 459 and 460), several images of Adam and Eve under the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (in Berlin, Dresden, Florence and other places), stories of Judith (in Gotha, Vienna, Dresden, etc.), "The Whore before Christ" (in Munich, Nuremberg, Kassel and Pest), etc. Some of Cranach's compositions are of cultural and historical significance, as they are performed in the spirit of Protestantism. From the mythological works of Cranach "Venus with Cupid", "Cupid with bees" and "Hercules with a spinning wheel", written by himself, or just released from his workshop, are repeated in many copies. He also painted genre paintings and hunting scenes. Portraits by Cranach, large and small, are common in many collections. Such, for example, are the portraits of Electors Luther, his wife, Melanchthon, Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg (in the Imperial Hermitage, 462) and "Sibyl, Elector of Saxony" (ibid., No. 464). Cranach's very few engravings on copper (for example, portraits of electors and Luther and St. John Chrysostom) testify to his unaccustomedness to works of this kind. On the contrary, there are numerous woodcuts made in his workshop. CRANACH at one time had a great influence on painting schools middle and northern Germany. Wed . Heller, "L. Cranachs Leben und Werke" ( Bamberg , 1821); Schuchardt, "L. Cranachs des Aelteren Leben und Werke" ( Lpc., 1851-1871, 3 vol. .); Warnecke, "Lucas Cr. d. Aeltere" ( Girl ., 1879); M. B. Linden, "Lucas Cr."(Lpts., 1883).
2. Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515-1586), son and pupil of the previous one, historical and portrait painter. His drawing is weaker than that of his father, the coloring is softer and richer in nuances. The works of Cranach the Younger are in the churches of Wittenberg and in many art galleries. The best of them: "The Sermon of John the Baptist", in the Brunswick gallery
As the son of an artist, Lucas has lived in Wittenberg since 1504. Cranach's biography is known as the story of an artist at court serving three successive elected Saxons. Cranach headed the workshop, was twice elected burgomaster. In addition, Lucas was a close friend of Martin Luther, whose doctrine he supported in his many drawings and woodcuts.
Soon Cranach was called the artist of the Reformation. He was a fast, prolific artist. Naive, whimsical, often clumsy in his engravings, he nevertheless had a fresh, original style, a warm, rich palette. Cranach's portraits are extremely successful.
Among the most famous works of the artist: "Repose in Egypt" (Berlin State Museum), "Judgment of Paris" (Karlsruhe Exhibition Hall), "Adam and Eve" (Kurtold Gallery, London), "Crucifixion" (Weimar). Among the famous portraits in the biography of Lucas Cranach are John Frederick, a self-portrait (Uffizi). Also, the artist was a perfect master of miniatures. He made several engraving boards, designs for woodcuts.
Lucas' son and pupil, Lucas Cranach the younger (1515–86), continued his father's tradition by adopting his workshop, signature, and also popularity. Their work is often indistinguishable.
Biography score
Lucas Cranach Elder (1472-1553), German Renaissance painter and graphic artist. He studied with his father. He worked in Austria (about 1500-1504), in Wittenberg at the court of the Elector of Saxony Frederick the Wise and his successors (1505-1550), in Augsburg (1550-1552) and Weimar (1552-1553).
Already in the first works, the artist showed himself to be a daring innovator. In compositions, he avoided the traditions of iconography, using brighter colors and expressive landscapes. An example of this style was "Rest on the Flight into Egypt" (1504) - a painting shining with color with jeweled characters.
When Cranach moved to Wittenberg, the talented painter was noticed by the ruling Elector of Saxony Frederick the Wise and brought closer to his court. As a true Renaissance man, Cranach the Elder was a generalist. In addition to painting, he was engaged in jewelry, church utensils, developed clothing styles, sketches for tapestries and fabrics, painted walls and decorated holidays.
In 1508, Cranach the Elder left for the Netherlands for a year, where he met Hieronymus Bosch, the most mystical artist of that time, and joined the Garden Brothers sect. The adherents of the sect dreamed of the return of the legendary Golden Age and professed complete freedom in love. Impressed by their ideas, in 1509 the artist heralded the heyday of the Northern Renaissance, depicting a naked woman for the first time in German art. True, while it was the goddess Venus. So, with his light hand, pre-Christian mythological themes and naked bodies appeared in German painting.
In the 1510s, Cranach the Elder painted many cutesy portraits of the nobility and hunting scenes, becoming a legislator of mannerism. The heroes of his mythological scenes acquire a portrait resemblance to noble people who willingly pose for him, taking part in these picturesque productions. Characteristic for this period of creativity and exquisite cabinet pictures on religious themes, for example, "The Nativity of Christ."
Portraits of women by Cranach the Elder are hard to miss. His female images are fragile princesses with slanting cat eyes and sweet half-smiles.
In the 1520s, Cranach the Elder is one of the richest and most respected people in Wittenberg and therefore can afford some liberties. For example, to accept and even paint portraits of the scandalous religious reformer Martin Luther. These portraits are distributed among the people in thousands of engraved prints. In addition, Cranach illustrates and publishes Luther's "September Gospel" that thundered throughout Germany at his own expense.
Lucas Cranach the Younger "Portrait of a father" 1550
"Venus and Cupid" 1509, Hermitage, St. Petersburg
"Madonna and Child under an Apple Tree" 1526, State Hermitage
"The mystical betrothal of Saint Catherine to Saints Dorothea, Margaret and Barbara"
"Christ and the Mother of God"
"Princess Sibylla of Cleves" 1526, State Art Collection, Weimar
"Christ and the Sinner"
"Prince of Saxony" 1517, National Gallery of Art, Washington
"Adam and Eve" 1526, Courtauld Institute Gallery, London
"Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden"
"Adam and Eve"
"Christmas"
"Nursing Madonna"
"Melancholy" 1532
"Madonna and Child with St. Anne"
"Misalliance" 1532, National Museum, Stockholm
Throughout his life, Lucas Cranach the Elder remained a remarkable master of an acutely psychological, monumental portrait (“Doctor Johann Cuspinian”, 1502-1503, Oskar Reinhart Collection, Winterthur; “Johannes Schener”, 1529, Museum old art, Brussels). Of the paintings by Cranach on religious themes, the most noteworthy are: “The Mother of God” (St. Jacob's Cathedral, Innsbruck); "The Crucifixion of Christ" (Old Pinakothek, Munich); “Repentance of St. Jerome” (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna); “Madonna and Child under an Apple Tree” (Hermitage, St. Petersburg) and “Madonna in the Vineyard” (The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow), several images of Adam and Eve under the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (in Berlin, Dresden, Florence and other places), the history of Judith (in Vienna, Dresden, Stuttgart, etc.), “The Harlot before Christ” (in Munich, Kassel, Nuremberg and Budapest) and others. Some of Cranach's compositions are of cultural and historical significance, as they are performed in the spirit of the Reformation and Protestantism.
"Repentance of St. Jerome" 1503
"Resting nymph" 1530-1535
"Judgement of Paris" 1512-1514
"Portrait young man" 1521
"Portrait of a Woman" 1526
"Hercules and Antaeus"
"Hercules at Omphala" 1537
"Young woman" 1530
"Venus and Cupid"
"Offended Cupid and Venus" 1530
"Apollo and Diana" 1530
"Crucifixion with Centurion" 1536
Paintings by Lucas Cranach with mythological themes “Venus with Cupid”, “Apollo and Diana”, “Cupid and the bees”, “Hercules with a spinning wheel” and others, created by himself, or came out of his workshop, are then repeated in many copies by the students of the artist’s workshop. Portraits by Cranach, large and small, were distributed in many collections and art collections in Europe. Such as, for example, portraits of the Electors, Luther, his wife, Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg and Elector Sibylla of Saxony. German painter Lucas Cranach the Elder also painted princely hunting scenes and genre paintings. Cranach's very few engravings on copper (for example, portraits of electors, Martin Luther and St. John the Evangelist) testify to the artist's lack of inclination for works of this kind. On the other hand, numerous woodcuts made in his workshop enjoyed wide success with the German nobility and burghers. After the death of Frederick the Wise, the artist remained at the court of Johann the Hard, who replaced his brother on the throne. Lucas Cranach became the mentor of his son, Prince Johann Friedrich, later the future Elector of Saxony the Magnanimous. In 1550, Elector Johann Friedrich, who had fallen out of favor with Emperor Charles V, was taken prisoner and then sent into exile. Loyal to his pupil to the end, Lucas Cranach went to Augsburg in 1550 to the Elector Johann Friedrich, who was held captive there, and two years later, together with the latter, moved to Weimar, where he died on October 16, 1553. The artist Lucas Cranach died the last of the representatives of the great generation of masters of the German northern Renaissance, having outlived Hans Baldung and Hans Holbein the Younger by 10 years and Albrecht Dürer and Matthias Grunewald by 25. The work of Lucas Cranach at one time had a great influence on the painting schools of central and northern Germany.
"Doctor Johann Cuspinian" 1503
"Portrait of Anna Kuspinian" 1503
"Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous, Elector of Saxony"
"Catherine Bora"
"Martin Luther"
"Portrait of Gerhart Volk"
"Portrait of a girl" (possibly Emilia of Saxony)
George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony
"Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Spring"
"Allegory of melancholy" 1528
"Lot with Daughters"
"Johann the Hard, Elector of Saxony"
"Portrait of George Spalatin" 1509
"Judith with the Head of Holofernes"
"Prayer for the Chalice"
