Art, literature & historySaint Andrew
Lucas Cranach the Elder · c. 1510-1515
Lucas Cranach the Elder: 1472–1553
Other names (77)
Cranaccio, Cranach, Cranach d. Ä. Lucas, Cranach Luc., cranach lucas d. alt., cranach lucas der altere, Cranack, Cranak, Cronach, genannt Cranach dem Alten von Lucas Müller, Kranach, L. Cranac, L. Cranaccio, L. Cranach, l. cranach d. aelt., l. cranach d. alt., L. Cranache, L. Cranack, L. Kranach, L. Kranachen, L. Kronach, Luca Cranach, Luca Cranch, Luca Kranach, Luca Kranack, Lucas Cranaccio, lucas cranach d. a., lucas cranach d. ae., lucas cranach d. aelt., lucas cranach d. alt., lucas cranach d.Ä.lt, Lucas Cranache, Lucas Cranach (I), Lucas Cranach, the Elder, Lucas Cranack, Lucas Cranch, Lucas Cranik, lucas d. a. cranach, Lucas d. Ält. Cranach, Lucas de Cranach, Lucas de Cronach, Lucas Granach, Lucas I Cranach, Lucas Kraen, Lucas Kranach, Lucas Kranachen, Lucas Kranack, Lucas Krane, Lucas Kranich, Lucas Kronach, Lucas Maler, Lucas Moller, Lucas Müller, Lucas Müller genannt Cranach, Lucas Sonder, Lucas Sunder, Lucas, the elder Cranach, Lucas van, Germ. Cranach, Luc. Cranach, Luc. Cronach, Lucius Branach, Luckas Cranach d. Ä., Luc. Kranach, Luc. Kranachen, Luka Kranakh, Lukas Cranach, Lukas Cranach D. Ä., Lukas Cranach d. Ae., Lukas Cranach dem Aeltern, Lukas d. Ä. Cranach, lukas d. ae. cranach, Lukas Kranach, L. von Cranach, Muller Cranach, Sunder Cranach, the elder, lucas cranach, von Lucas Kranach dem ältern
Biography
Lucas Cranach the Elder (German: Lucas Cranach der Ältere [ˈluːkas ˈkʁaːnax deːɐ̯ ˈʔɛltəʁə]; c. 1472 – 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 known for his portraits, both of German princes and leaders of the Protestant Reformation, whose cause he embraced with enthusiasm. He was a close friend of Martin Luther, and eleven portraits of that reformer by him survive. Cranach also painted religious subjects, first in the Catholic tradition, and later trying to find new ways of conveying Lutheran religious concerns in art. He continued to paint nude subjects from mythology and religion throughout his career.
Cranach had a large workshop 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. He has been considered the most successful German artist of his time.
Wikipedia contributors. Opening excerpt, formatted for reading. CC BY-SA 4.0. Source revision.
Influenced by
- Quentin Matsyseditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified.
- Jan Gossaerteditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified.
Later influence
- James Tissoteditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified.
- Lucas Cranach the Youngereditorial inference
Evidence
Wikidata assertion retained for review; its references, if supplied, have not been independently verified. Teaching is recorded separately and does not itself establish artistic influence.
- Alberto Martinieditorial inference
Evidence
The cited biography explicitly attributes artistic influence or inspiration to the named painter(s); retained as a secondary-source assertion. Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
- Albrecht Altdorfereditorial inference
Evidence
The cited biography explicitly attributes artistic influence or inspiration to the named painter(s); retained as a secondary-source assertion. Explicit secondary-source assertion; independent historical verification remains pending.
Artworks by year
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Museums & collections
Documented holdings of works attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder. Check the museum’s record for current display information.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art59 recorded works
- Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK)36 recorded works
- National Gallery of Art33 recorded works
- Art Institute of Chicago31 recorded works
- Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie11 recorded works
- Minneapolis Institute of Art8 recorded works
- Musée du Louvre8 recorded works
- Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe7 recorded works
- Academy of Fine Arts Vienna6 recorded works
- National Gallery6 recorded works
- Museo Nacional del Prado3 recorded works
- Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest3 recorded works
- The Cleveland Museum of Art3 recorded works
- Albertina2 recorded works
- Jagdschloss Grunewald2 recorded works
- Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts2 recorded works
- Uffizi Galleries2 recorded works
- Alte Pinakothek — Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen1 recorded work
- Belvedere1 recorded work
- Gemäldegalerie Berlin1 recorded work
- Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin1 recorded work
- Germanisches Nationalmuseum1 recorded work
- Hamburger Kunsthalle1 recorded work
- Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland1 recorded work
- Kurpfälzisches Museum1 recorded work
- musée des beaux-arts — Lyon1 recorded work
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston1 recorded work
- Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga1 recorded work
- National Museum, Poznań, Poland1 recorded work
- Regensburg Museum of History, Regensburg, Germany1 recorded work
- Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium1 recorded work
- Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts1 recorded work
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany1 recorded work
- The Nivaagaard Collection1 recorded work
- Walters Art Museum1 recorded work
Sources 14
- Wikidata (CC0)
- Austrian museum collections: independent authority research
- National Gallery of Art
- Country research — museum-connected artworks and verified painter affiliations
- Museum authority country review
- Getty ULAN — primary artist cultural affiliations
- Pantheon 2025 — Datawheel (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Museum authority country review
- Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK)
- Pantheon 2025 — Datawheel (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Expanded artwork research — official museum evidence
- Austrian museum collections: independent authority research
- Pantheon 2025 — Datawheel (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Louvre painter identity and WikiArt profile links
