Lucas Cranach the Elder: The Complete Story
Lucas Cranach the Elder was the German Renaissance painter who gave the Protestant Reformation its face and, with the other hand, painted some of the most elegant nudes of his age.
Court artist at Wittenberg, close friend of Martin Luther, and head of a busy workshop, he was as much a brand and a businessman as a brush.
He signed his pictures with a winged serpent, the logo of a one man image empire.
Born: Kronach, Germany, 1472
Known for: Reformation portraits, slender mythological nudes, the serpent signature
Died: Weimar, 1553
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The painter of the Reformation
Cranach was Luther's friend and godfather to one of his children. He painted Luther again and again, the stern monk, the married reformer, even Luther on his deathbed, and printed the images far and wide.
Through his woodcuts and portraits, Cranach gave the new movement a recognisable human face. He was its art department. See what is a woodcut.
Elegant bodies for Catholic courts
At the same time he painted slim, cool, knowing nudes: Venus, Eve, Judith, often wearing nothing but a hat and a necklace. These went to princely collectors, including Catholic ones. See what is the nude in art.
The man who supplied the Reformation with images had no trouble selling sophisticated mythologies to the other side. Business was business.
A workshop run like a factory
Cranach's studio turned out paintings at scale, with sons and assistants copying popular designs to meet demand. The winged serpent mark worked like a trademark on the products. See what is oil painting.
He grew rich, owned a printing press, a pharmacy and a wine business, and served as a town councillor and mayor of Wittenberg. Few painters were ever this entrepreneurial.
Questions about Lucas Cranach
What is Lucas Cranach famous for?
Portraits of Martin Luther and the Reformation, plus his distinctive slender nudes.
What is the serpent signature?
A winged snake he used as his mark, which became a kind of workshop trademark.
Was he really Luther's friend?
Yes, close enough to be godfather to one of Luther's children.
When did he die?
In 1553, in Weimar, aged about 81.
Why both Cranachs matter
His son, Lucas Cranach the Younger, kept the workshop and the serpent mark running for decades, which is why telling father from son can be hard. The brand outlived the man, exactly as he built it to.
One last detail. When the old Elector of Saxony was taken prisoner after a lost war, Cranach, by then in his seventies, followed his patron into exile. Loyalty, it turned out, was part of the brand too.