Lucas Cranach the Elder: paintings. German painter of the Renaissance

Lucas Cranach the Elder - master of colorful portraits, creator of genre and biblical compositions, founder of the Danube School of Painting, a talented painter. His paintings of the Renaissance make him popular in our day. His homeland is Northern Franconia (south-eastern part of Germany), a place called Kronach, whose name was used by the artist as part of his family name.

Young years

Lucas Cranach the Elder, whose paintings are now in many museums around the world, was born in 1472 in the family of artist Hans Mayer, who became the first teacher of drawing art for his son. From an early age, a talented young man went around the whole of Germany, visited the Holy Land - Palestine, trying to find his place in life.

Painting "Crucifixion"

From 1501 to 1504 Lucas Cranach stayed in Vienna, where from his brush came the first work, the main theme of which was religion. "Crucifixion" is a picture of 1501, the plot of which was taken from the Holy Scripture. It shows an entirely new approach of Lucas Cranach to the theme of the crucifixion of Christ. Five characters on the stage of life played a real drama. The main figures on the canvas are the leading conversations of John and Maria, whose poses and looks direct the spectator's eyes to asymmetrically arranged crucifixes - the artist's own innovation. Gloomy breathing of nature, heavy clouds over the head of the Savior and a large bandage on the body seem to enliven the picture, and the death throes of two executed robbers sharpens the whole tragedy of the situation.

Painting "Saint Christopher"

Images of St. Christopher at different times were written by many artists. The creation of Lucas Cranach adequately occupied its niche in religious topics. The basis for the created canvas lay the following legend. There lived in Canaan a man named Repet, a huge growth and remarkable strength which distinguished him from the general crowd. Not knowing where to apply his exceptional abilities, he decided to enter the service of the most powerful man - the king. It turned out that the devil is more powerful than the king, who, in turn, trembles from the mere sight of the cross. Asking how to serve Christ, Repet turned to the hermit, and he sent him to the bank of the river and ordered to help people who want to cross it. Somehow among those who wanted to cross the river was a boy, whom the giant easily planted on his shoulders and began his journey. With each step, the boy sitting on his shoulders grew heavier and heavier, and in the middle of the path, struggling to withstand the child, Repp was afraid that both could drown. When the other shore was finally underfoot, the infant opened Repriu and said that he was Christ, carrying all the burdens of the world on himself. Then Jesus there and then in the river christened Repet and named him Christopher (in translation from Greek - "bearer of Christ"). The Savior ordered the giant to stick a rod into the ground, and the next morning it was covered with green branches and fragrant fruits. Many people, after seeing such a miracle, turned to faith.

Lucas Cranach the Elder, whose paintings in the early period of his work are distinguished by the innovation of the idea, the freedom of composition, the natural harmony between man and nature, has been moving away from his original manner of writing since about 1520. In his works, traits of stylization and mannerisms begin to be traced.

A favorite theme is spiritual

From 1504 until the end of his days, Lucas Cranach worked as a court painter at the court of the Duke of Frederick III, the cousin of Saxony. He wrote altars, developed coins, engraved and engraved woodcuts. Lucas beautifully managed landscape works. The painting "Rest on the way to Egypt", written in 1504, shows the ideal pastime of the family, located on a lawn among birches and firs. Like naughty children, angels play with little Christ, play music and collect flowers. With juicy greens perfectly harmonize the rich red tones of clothes. The paintings of spiritual themes reflected the development and formation of the Protestant Reformation. A number of works were created in the Lutheran manner. For example, Christ is portrayed traditionally, and the apostles are without a halo and with the faces of reform leaders.

Lucas Cranach the Elder: paintings

Especially bright Cranach showed himself in the portrait genre, capturing a huge number of his countrymen. In 1532, Lucas received from Friedrich III an order for 60 portraits. Thanks to the master's hand, the modern world can now look curiously at the faces of people who lived centuries ago and learn what the leaders of the Reformation looked like, the supporter of which was Lucas Cranach from the earliest stages of its birth. Several portraits of Martin Luther (a Catholic priest, the initiator of the movement in the Church called the Reformation), his wife and children, courtiers and princes, many clergymen of the Catholic Church emerged from under his hand . Working on the portraits, the master did not idealize his customers, trying to look into their inner world; For him was solely the external appearance. Often accessories and clothes of people in portraits were written by his pupils - future German artists, including the younger son. The artist illustrated Protestant pamphlets and financed the publication of the Bible, which he translated into German. Like many German artists of the time, Cranach was an engraver, images on his works were directed against the Catholic clergy and papacy.

Subject Pictures as a Tribute to Fashion

With the light hand Cranach in fashion included small pictures with mythological subjects, stand out among others some naivety of the composition. Women's nature, thin and elongated, is mostly depicted in large headdresses, in the style of "nude" or covered with a slightly draped cloth. The same technique can be followed in the paintings on biblical themes. In the late works of the master in the style of "nude", one can see the influence of Italian art of that era: seductive poses, lush breasts and high waist, narrow shoulders and a small head.

Fields of activity of Lucas Cranach the Elder

Lucas Cranach the Elder published books and traded them, headed a major art studio that contributed to the popularization of his art and numbered more than 10 assistants. The students of Cranach the Elder either wrote in the manner of their mentor, or repeated many of his pictures. Gradually, the artist became the wealthiest burgher of the city of Wittenberg and was elected several times by his burgomaster. Since 1508, he replaced his initials in paintings with a seal in the form of a snake, and he placed it both on his works and on the products of his students, which were to taste as an approving symbol. In addition to his own huge workshop, Lucas Cranach the Elder had licenses for the sale of wines and a permit for the exclusive sale of medicines in Wittenberg, granted by Friedrich the Wise. By the way, the German artist's pharmacy worked until 1871 and was burnt as a result of a fire.

The last years of his life he spent in Ausburg, Innsbruck and Weimar. Lucas Kranas died on October 16, 1553 in Weimar.

The Legacy of a German Artist

After Lucas Cranach the Elder left a huge artistic heritage; Some of his works exist in several versions or copies. This can be explained by the fact that the artist developed his own method, which enabled him to create pictures in a short time: two sons, Hans and Lucas Jr. worked in his studio. They actively participated in the writing of plot pictures and portraits, and the work was signed with the seal of his father. The artist had three more daughters. When Lucas Cranach the Elder died, the pictures in his own versions continued to be created by his sons. Today it is difficult to determine the true authorship of some of them.