Lucas Cranach the Elder
German Renaissance painter and printmaker, court painter to Saxon electors.
Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472 – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance artist who worked in painting, woodcut, and engraving. For most of his career, he served as court painter to the Electors of Saxony. He is best known for his portraits of German princes and Protestant Reformation leaders, a movement he actively supported. A close friend of Martin Luther, Cranach produced eleven surviving portraits of the reformer. His religious works began in the Catholic tradition but later evolved to express Lutheran themes; he also painted nude figures from mythology and religion throughout his life. Many of his pieces exist in multiple versions due to his large workshop, and his son, Lucas Cranach the Younger, along with others, continued producing variations of his work for decades after his death. He is regarded as the most successful German artist of his time.
Cranach was born in Kronach, upper Franconia (now central Germany), likely in 1472, though his exact birth date is unknown. He learned drawing from his father, Hans Maler, whose surname indicated his profession. His mother, whose maiden name was Hübner, died in 1491. Cranach adopted a variant of his birthplace as his surname, a common practice at the time. His training is uncertain but probably involved local south German masters, similar to his contemporary Matthias Grünewald, who worked in Bamberg and Aschaffenburg. There is evidence he may have spent time in Vienna around 1500. From 1504 to 1520, he lived in a house at the southwest corner of the marketplace in Wittenberg. According to Gunderam, tutor to Cranach’s children, Cranach had already shown his painting talent before the end of the 15th century. This work caught the attention of Duke Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (Frederick the Wise), who appointed him to his court in 1504. Wittenberg records show Cranach first appearing in public accounts on 24 June 1504, receiving 50 gulden for half a year’s salary as *pictor ducalis* (“the duke’s painter”). He remained in the service of the Elector and his successors for life, though he could take on other projects. Cranach married Barbara Brengbier, daughter of a Gotha burgher; she died in Wittenberg on 26 December 1540. He later owned a house in Gotha but likely met Barbara near Wittenberg, where her family also had a house that eventually became his. The couple had two sons who became artists: Hans Cranach, who died in Bologna in 1537, and Lucas Cranach the Younger (born 1515, died 1586). They also had three daughters, including Barbara Cranach (died 1569), who married Christian Brück (Pontanus) and was an ancestor of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. A granddaughter married Polykarp Leyser the Elder, making Cranach an ancestor of the Leyser family of theologians.
The earliest evidence of Cranach’s skill is a painting dated 1504. Early in his career, he worked in various areas: decorative painting, portraits, altarpieces, woodcuts, engravings, and designing coins for the electorate. Shortly after his court appointment, he startled the duke’s courtiers with realistic still lifes of game and antlers on the walls of the country palaces at Coburg and Locha; his depictions of deer and wild boar were especially noted, and the duke encouraged this by taking him hunting, where Cranach sketched the duke and his brother John. Before 1508, he painted several altarpieces for the Castle Church in Wittenberg, competing with Albrecht Dürer, Hans Burgkmair, and others. He also produced portraits of the duke and his brother, and published many of his best woodcuts and copper engravings. In 1509, Cranach traveled to the Netherlands, where he painted Emperor Maximilian and the future Emperor Charles V as a boy. Until 1508, he signed his works with his initials; that year, the elector gave him a winged snake emblem, which replaced the initials on his paintings thereafter. Cranach served as court painter to the Saxon electors in Wittenberg from 1505 to 1550, a region central to the emerging Protestant faith. His patrons were strong supporters of Martin Luther, and Cranach used his art to symbolize the new faith. He created many portraits of Luther and provided woodcut illustrations for Luther’s German Bible translation. Later, the duke granted him a monopoly on medicine sales in Wittenberg and a printer’s patent with exclusive Bible copyright privileges. Cranach’s presses were used by Luther himself. His apothecary shop remained open for centuries until it burned down in 1871. Cranach, like his patron, was an early friend of the Protestant Reformers, though the exact date of his first meeting with Luther is unclear. The earliest mention of Cranach in Luther’s correspondence is from 1520. In a 1521 letter from Worms, Luther called Cranach his “gossip” and warmly referred to his wife. Cranach first engraved Luther in 1520, when Luther was still an Augustinian friar; five years later, after Luther renounced his vows, Cranach witnessed the betrothal festival of Luther and Katharina von Bora.
- born
- c. 1472, Kronach, upper Franconia (now central Germany)
- died
- 16 October 1553, Weimar
- field
- Painting, printmaking (woodcut and engraving)
- nationality
- German
- known_for
- Portraits of German princes and Protestant Reformers, religious and mythological subjects, court painter to the Electors of Saxony
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Lucas Maler
- Birth Date
- c. 1472
- Birth Place
- Kronach, Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg, Holy Roman Empire
- Death Date
- df=y · 1553 · 10 · 16 · 1472
- Death Place
- Weimar, Duchy of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire
- Field
- Painting
- Movement
- German Renaissance
- Patrons
- Electors of Saxony
- Children
- 5, including Hans and Lucas
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Cranach was born at Kronach in upper Franconia, probably in 1472; his exact date of birth is unknown. He learned drawing from his father Hans Maler, and his mother, surname Hübner, died in 1491. Where Cranach was trained is not known, but it was probably with local south German masters. There are also suggestions that he spent time in Vienna around 1500. From 1504 to 1520 he lived in a house on the south west corner of the marketplace in Wittenberg. His work drew the attention of Duke Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (Frederick the Wise), who attached Cranach to his court in 1504. Cranach married Barbara Brengbier, daughter of a burgher of Gotha; she died at Wittenberg on 26 December 1540. He had two sons, both artists: Hans Cranach, who died in Bologna in 1537, and Lucas Cranach the Younger, born 1515, who died in 1586. He also had three daughters; one, Barbara Cranach, was an ancestor of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Reader's Guide
Cranach's significance lies in his role as a leading German Renaissance artist and his close association with the Protestant Reformation. As court painter to the Electors of Saxony from 1505 to 1550, he produced numerous portraits of Martin Luther and provided woodcut illustrations for Luther's German translation of the Bible. His workshop was large, 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. Cranach also served twice as burgomaster of Wittenberg (1531 and 1540). His legacy includes a wide range of portraits, religious subjects, and mythological nudes, and he is remembered by the Lutheran Church on 6 April along with Dürer and possibly Grünewald or Burgkmair.
Did You Know?
- Cranach was a close friend of Martin Luther and was godfather to Luther's first child, Johannes 'Hans' Luther, born 1526.
- He was present as a witness at the betrothal festival of Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora.
- Cranach's granddaughter married Polykarp Leyser the Elder, making him an ancestor of the Polykarp Leyser family of theologians.
- He twice served as burgomaster of Wittenberg, in 1531 and 1540.
Court Painter to Saxony
Cranach's professional identity was inseparable from the Saxon ducal court. After his work drew the attention of Frederick the Wise, he was attached to the court in 1504, and his name first appears in Wittenberg's public accounts on 24 June 1504, when he collected fifty gulden as half-year's salary under the title pictor ducalis. He remained in the service of the Elector and his successors for the rest of his life, though he was free to take on other commissions. His duties extended far beyond painting: he designed coins for the electorate, produced decorative murals of game and antlers in the country palaces at Coburg and Locha, and even received a monopoly on the sale of medicines at Wittenberg along with a printer's patent granting exclusive copyright privileges in Bibles. In 1508 the elector bestowed upon him the winged snake as a personal emblem, which replaced his initials on subsequent works.
Art in Service of the Reformation
Cranach's most enduring association is with Martin Luther and the Protestant movement that reshaped German religious life. Working in Wittenberg, the very heart of the emerging Lutheran faith, he used his art as a visible symbol of the new religion. He produced eleven surviving portraits of Luther, first making an engraving of the reformer in 1520 while Luther was still an Augustinian friar. Their personal bond was deep: in a 1521 letter from Worms, Luther called Cranach his "gossip," warmly referencing the artist's wife as his "Gevatterin." Cranach was present as a witness at Luther's betrothal to Katharina von Bora five years after Luther renounced his vows, and he served as godfather to their first child, Johannes "Hans" Luther, born in 1526. Beyond portraiture, Cranach provided woodcut illustrations for Luther's German translation of the Bible, and his own printing presses were used by the reformer. He also evolved his religious painting, moving from the Catholic tradition toward new visual language for Lutheran concerns.
A Polymath of Media and a Prolific Workshop
Cranach worked across an extraordinary range of artistic media. In addition to oil painting, he produced woodcuts, engravings, decorative murals, and coin designs for the Saxon electorate. Early in his career he astonished courtiers with the startling realism of his still-life paintings of game, deer, and wild boar on the walls of ducal palaces, and the duke encouraged this passion by taking him into the hunting field to sketch his grace pursuing a stag. Before 1508 he painted several altarpieces for the Castle Church at Wittenberg, competing with masters like Albrecht Dürer and Hans Burgkmair. He also painted nude subjects drawn from mythology and religion throughout his career. His workshop was large and highly productive; many of his compositions exist in multiple versions. After his death in 1553, his son Lucas Cranach the Younger and other workshop members continued producing versions of his designs for decades, extending his visual influence well beyond his lifetime.
Family, Lineage, and Lasting Legacy
Cranach's personal life wove into some of Germany's most prominent families. He married Barbara Brengbier, daughter of a Gotha burgher, who died at Wittenberg in 1540. He fathered two sons, both artists: Hans, whose life remains obscure and who died in Bologna in 1537, and Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515–1586), who carried the family workshop forward. Among his three daughters was Barbara, who married Christian Brück (Pontanus) and became an ancestor of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. His granddaughter married Polykarp Leyser the Elder, linking the family to a distinguished line of theologians. Born in Kronach in upper Franconia, probably in 1472, to a father named Hans Maler—whose surname simply denoted his profession as painter—Cranach trained likely under local south German masters. He lived from 1504 to 1520 in a house on the southwest corner of the Wittenberg marketplace. Widely regarded as the most successful German artist of his era, his legacy endures through both his surviving works and the dynastic artistic tradition his family established.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Lucas Cranach the Elder?
He was a German Renaissance-era painter and printmaker who spent most of his career as the official court artist for the Electors of Saxony. Active from the late fifteenth century until his death in 1553, he worked in oil painting, woodcut, and engraving.
What is Lucas Cranach the Elder most famous for?
His most celebrated works are the portraits he produced of German princes and key figures of the Protestant Reformation. He is equally noted for religious and mythological paintings, as well as nude subjects, which he continued to paint throughout his career.
What was Lucas Cranach the Elder's relationship with Martin Luther?
The two were close personal friends, and Cranach painted at least eleven portraits of Luther that survive today. He embraced the Reformation cause with genuine enthusiasm and actively sought new visual language to express Lutheran theological ideas in his religious paintings.
Where was Lucas Cranach the Elder born and where did he die?
He was born around 1472 in Kronach, in the region of upper Franconia in central Germany. He died on 16 October 1553 in Weimar, after a career spent primarily in Wittenberg serving the Saxon court.
Why is Lucas Cranach the Elder considered important?
He represents a pivotal shift in Northern European art, moving religious imagery from a Catholic visual vocabulary toward one shaped by Lutheran theology. His long career as a court painter and his workshop model also made him one of the most influential artistic figures in sixteenth-century Germany.
More in Old Masters 1-22
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record