Art, literature & history
Sibylle of Cleves
c. 1547
- Dating
- Approximate date range
- Held at
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Medium
- woodcut with hand-coloring
- Dimensions
- Image: 32.6 x 21.4 cm (12 13/16 x 8 7/16 in.)
- Collection no.
- 2026.20
- Attribution
- By the artist
- Image rights
- CC0 1.0License details
Lucas Cranach the Younger. Sibylle of Cleves. The Cleveland Museum of Art. CC0 1.0. Compressed full-frame reproduction.
Collection: The Cleveland Museum of Art
About this artwork
Sibylle of Cleves — Lucas Cranach the Younger. c. 1547.
Medium: woodcut with hand-coloring. Dimensions: Image: 32.6 x 21.4 cm (12 13/16 x 8 7/16 in.).
Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.
This hand-colored woodcut depicts Sibylle of Cleves, wife of Johann Friedrich of Saxony, shortly after the Schmalkaldic War (1546–47), when Protestant princes in Germanic lands fought against the Catholic emperor Charles V. After her husband’s defeat, Sibylle famously pleaded before the emperor on bended knee, helping secure commutation of his death sentence. Produced by Lucas Cranach the Younger around 1547, the print belongs to a series portraying key figures in the conflict and may have functioned as Protestant propaganda for distribution to allied courts. Sybille of Cleves was the only woman portrayed in the series.
Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.
Location checked Sep 10, 2026. This does not indicate whether the work is on display.