Lucas Cranach the Younger (german: Lucas Cranach der Jüngere ; October 4, 1515 – January 25, 1586) was a German

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

painter and portraitist, the son of

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is kno ...

and brother of

Hans Cranach Hans Cranach (ca. 1513–1537), also known as Johann Lucas Cranach, was a German painter, the oldest son of Lucas Cranach the Elder. German art historian Johann Christian Schuchardt, who discovered his existence, credits him with an altar-piece ...

Life and career

Lucas Cranach the Younger was born in

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

, Germany on October 4, 1515, the second son of

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. The grave of Lucas Cranach the Younger, Stadtkirche Wittenberg

The grave of Lucas Cranach the Younger, Stadtkirche Wittenberg

The

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

began in Wittenberg in 1517. Cranach the Elder was friends with

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

and became known as a leading producer of Protestant artistic propaganda. In 1550, Cranach the Elder left Wittenberg to join his patron,

John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony John Frederick I (30 June 1503 in Torgau – 3 March 1554 in Weimar), called the Magnanimous, was the Elector of Saxony (1532–1547) and head of the Schmalkaldic League. Early years John Frederick was the eldest son of Elector John by his fi ...

, in exile. 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. 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." 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. On February 20, 1541, he married Barbara Brück (daughter of Gregor Brück, 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 Brück family by his sister, Barbara Cranach, who married Christian Brück (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 Augustin Cranach (1554 — 26 July 1595) was a German painter. He was born and died in Wittenberg, and was the son of Lucas Cranach the Younger and Magdalena Schurff. He was the father of Lucas Cranach III. See also * List of German painters ...

. His daughter Elisabeth married

Polykarp Leyser the Elder Polykarp (von) Leyser the Elder or Polykarp Leyser I (18 March 1552 – 22 February 1610) was a Lutheran theologian, superintendent of Braunschweig, superintendent-general of the Saxon church-circle, professor of theology at the University of Wit ...

. Cranach the Younger died in Wittenberg on January 25, 1586, at the age of 70. He is buried adjacent to one of his finest altarpieces in the church of St Mary, also known as

Stadtkirche Wittenberg The Stadt- und Pfarrkirche St. Marien zu Wittenberg (Town and Parish Church of St. Mary's) is the civic church of the German town of Lutherstadt Wittenberg. The reformers Martin Luther and Johannes Bugenhagen preached there and the building a ...

Works

File:Adam and Eve, by Lucas Cranach the younger.jpg, ''

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

'' File:Nymph of the Spring MET DT3097.jpg, ''Nymph of the Spring'' (1545–1550) File:Christ Blessing the Children MET DP280362.jpg, ''Christ blessing the children'' (1545–1550) File:Christ and the Adulteress MET DP280360.jpg, ''Christ and the adulteress'' (1545–1550) File:Lucas Cranach d. Ä. 063.jpg, ''

Portrait of Lucas Cranach the Elder ''Portrait of Lucas Cranach the Elder'' is a 1550 oil on panel portrait of Lucas Cranach the Elder. It is inscribed "Aetatis Suae LXXVII". It entered the Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art ...

'' (1550) File:Portrait of Philipp Melanchthon.jpg, Portrait of

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lut ...

(1562) File:Georg-Cracow and his family by Lucas Cranach the YoungerFXD.jpg, ''Portrait of Georg Cracow and family'' (1563) File:Lucas Cranach d.J. - Kurfürst Johann Friedrich der Großmütige von Sachsen (1578).jpg, ''

'' (1578)

''
The Family of Sigismund I of Poland ''The Family of Sigismund I of Poland'' or ''Portrait Miniatures of the Jagiellon Family'' is a set of ten portrait miniatures of the Jagiellonian dynasty (Jagiellon Family), produced in the studio of Lucas Cranach the Younger during Bona Sforza' ...
''

File:Cranach the Younger Sigismund I the Old.jpg,

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...

(ca. 1553) File:Cranach the Younger Sigismund II Augustus.jpg, Sigismund II Augustus (1553) File:Cranach the Younger Elizabeth of Austria.jpg, Elizabeth Habsburg, Queen of Poland File:Cranach the Younger Barbara Radziwiłł.jpg, Portrait of Barbara Radziwiłł, Queen of Poland File:Cranach the Younger Catherine of Austria.jpg, Portrait of Catherine of Austria, Queen of Poland

References

External links

Cranach Digital Archive (cda)
The research resource on Lucas Cranach
''Fifteenth- to eighteenth-century European paintings: France, Central Europe, the Netherlands, Spain, and Great Britain''
a collection catalog fully available online as a PDF, which contains material on Cranach the Younger (cat. no. 10) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cranach, Lucas, The Younger 16th-century German painters German male painters German Renaissance painters German Lutherans People from Wittenberg People from the Electorate of Saxony Cranach family 1515 births 1586 deaths

Life and career

Works

''The Family of Sigismund I of Poland ''The Family of Sigismund I of Poland'' or ''Portrait Miniatures of the Jagiellon Family'' is a set of ten portrait miniatures of the Jagiellonian dynasty (Jagiellon Family), produced in the studio of Lucas Cranach the Younger during Bona Sforza' ...''

References

External links

''
The Family of Sigismund I of Poland ''The Family of Sigismund I of Poland'' or ''Portrait Miniatures of the Jagiellon Family'' is a set of ten portrait miniatures of the Jagiellonian dynasty (Jagiellon Family), produced in the studio of Lucas Cranach the Younger during Bona Sforza' ...
''