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Kneeling Putto in Tondo

Lucas Cranach the Elderc. 1509–10

Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

From 1509 onward Cranach was receiving payments for work on the castles of Lochau and Wittenberg, where he had probably been entrusted with mural paintings. This kneeling putto and a second drawing with a smaller angel in a tondo (inv. no. C 2159) were probably sketches for illusionistic architecture. The plasticity of the putti and the view from below argue for this.

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  • Title: Kneeling Putto in Tondo
  • Creator: Lucas Cranach the Elder
  • Date Created: c. 1509–10
  • Physical Dimensions: 18.5 × 18 cm
  • Technique and Material: Pen and brown ink, brush and gray and brown ink, preliminary drawing black
  • Provenance: Old inventory, first listed in the inventory in 1865
  • Museum: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Kupferstich-Kabinett
  • Inv.-No.: C 2162
  • ISIL-No.: DE-MUS-845516
  • External Link: http://www.skd.museum/de/museen-institutionen/residenzschloss/kupferstich-kabinett/
  • Copyright: Photo © Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Kupferstich-Kabinett/ Herbert Boswank; Text © Renaissance and Reformation: German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach, A Cooperation of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, and the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München, Catalogue of the Exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Nov 20, 2016 – March 26, 2017, Munich: Prestel, 2016; cat. no. 88 / Claudia Schnitzer
  • Catalogue: https://prestelpublishing.randomhouse.de/book/Renaissance-and-Reformation/Stephanie-Buck/Prestel-com/e504919.rhd
  • Artist Dates: 1472 Kronach–1553 Weimar
  • Artist Biography: Cranach, whose name derived from his birthplace, Kronach, was presumably trained by his father. Around 1502 Cranach was staying in Vienna, where he produced his first documented works. In 1504 Elector Frederick the Wise of Saxony called him to his court in Wittenberg, where Cranach would head a very large, extremely productive workshop. The Cranach factory was active in prints as well as paintings. His many portraits of Martin Luther—the Cranach and Luther families were close friends—and his altarpieces with decidedly Reformist programs made Cranach and his memorable style the epitome of Protestant visual culture. Nevertheless, Cranach was also active for Luther’s adversaries, such as Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg.
Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

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