 Lucas Cranach, the elder, was a German painter who lived from 1472 to 1553. Cranach was born at Cronach in upper Franconia, and learned the art of drawing from his father. It has not been possible to trace his descent or the name of his parents. We are not informed as to the school in which he was taught, and it is a mere guess that he took lessons from the south German masters to whom Mathew Grunewald owed his education. But Grunewald practised at Bamberg and Aschaffenburg, and Bamberg is the capital of the diocese in which Cronach lies.
 According to Gunderam, the tutor of Cranach's children, Cranach signalized his talents as a painter before the close of the 15th century. He then drew upon himself the attention of the elector of Saxony, who attached him to his person in 1504. The records of Wittenberg confirm Gunderam's statement to this extent that Cranach's name appears for the first time in the public accounts on the 24th of June 1504, when he drew 50 gulden for the salary of half a year, as pictor ducalis. The only clue to Cranach's settlement previous to his Wittenberg appointment is afforded by the knowledge that he owned a house at Gotha, and that Barbara Brengbier, his wife, was the daughter of a burgher of that city....
Read the rest of Lucas Cranach's biography at MALASPINA GREAT BOOKS--you must double-click your browser's BACK ARROW button in order to return here.
See my favorite Cranach masterpieces - a slideshow with links to museums.
Link to the portrait, logo, and more information at the Cranach website in Germany. |