Renessaince Beauties by Lucas Cranach

Portrait of a young woman, 1525



Lucretia, 1530

Renaissance Beauties is the first solo exhibition in Finland on the oeuvre of the great German Renaissance master Lucas Cranach the Elder. The works on display include paintings and prints from the collections of European museums. The above two  works are the only works by Cranach in Finland, both in the collection of the Sinebrychoff Art Museum. They represent popular themes in the artist’s oeuvre: female portraits and beauties, both rendered in a personal and recognizable style.

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) established a successful and lucrative studio in Wittenberg, known for some 5,000 paintings. In addition to numerous altarpieces and allegorical paintings, Cranach is known for his elaborate portraits, numerous versions of close friend Martin Luther. Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515-1586) continued the studio after his father’s death. His style of painting is so similar to that of his father that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish their work.

Cranach’s fascinating and enigmatic paintings have spoken to artists over the ages. Among the best-known examples are probably the interpretations by Picasso.  A present-day perspective on the handsome jewellery depicted in Cranach’s works is offered by a number of impressive items created by German jewellery artists. Jewellery photos in a later post!

This lady by Picasso has a lot of jewellery on. Too much perhaps,
because she seems a bit unhappy to me!

Portrait of a Young Woman (Princess Emilia of Saxony?), before 1537

Venus and Cupid the Honey Thief, 1530

So many nudes!

Dido, 1547

Ill-Matched Lovers,  c. 1530

I’ll add here still one portrait that I photographed at The Uffizi.

Portrait of a young woman, 1530, The Uffizi

Cranach was a German painter and printmaker, born in Germany and having studied in Vienna. He was active in the town of Wittenberg where he spent most of his career as a court painter to the Saxon electors. His work includes many fine religious examples and several portraits of Martin Luther, although he also painted secular subjects. Besides being one of the greatest German painters of his time, Cranach was also widely known for his woodcuts, some of which illustrated the first German printing of the New Testament.

Cranach learned the art of drawing from his father and would pass this on to his own son, Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515 – 1586). Cranach the Elder’s chief occupation was that of portrait painting, where he preserved the features of all the German Reformers and their princely adherents. - The Uffizi

In advance of the Strauss New Year’s Concert from Vienna...
Happy New Year!

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