Lucas Cranach the Elder: 9 works

'For most of his long career, Lucas Cranach the Elder was court painter to the Elector of Saxony. Although the general placement of Eve, as well as that of Adam in another painting by Cranach also in the collection of the Art Institute, reflects the influence of Albrecht Dürer's renowned classicizing treatment of the same subject in paintings and prints, Cranach's slender, undulating figures conform to the contemporary courtly ideals of beauty.'

'This is the first of Cranach's several versions of The Judgment of Paris.'

'Cranach's Virgin and Child with a Bunch of Grapes (an earlier variation on the theme is in Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza) from the collection of the legendary Fugger family of bankers in Augsburg does not just illustrate an intimate relationship of mother and child: the grapes allude to the sacrament of the Eucharist and hence to the sacrifice of Christ's death, which lends this devotional image a symbolic dimension that was equally relevant to Catholics and Protestants.'

'Cranach also took ideas from prints of same subject by Jacopo de'Barbari and by Dürer, both dated c.1502-3, creating a new interpretation from these sources.'

'Here, Cranach's nudes illustrate this Renaissance interest, but their slender proportions are Gothic.'

'The exciting interaction between the moralising message and the provocative nudity made this theme popular in Cranach's workshop. In Cranach's representations, the story is always narrowed down to the heroine herself and the moment of her suicide, rather than a more detailed narrative depiction.'

'Although the general placement of Adam, as well as that of Eve in another painting by Cranach also in the collection of the Art Institute, reflects the influence of Albrecht Dürer's renowned classicizing treatment of the same subject in paintings and prints, Cranach's slender, undulating figures conform to the contemporary courtly ideals of beauty.'

'But this is only one side of the story, because on the other hand Cranach's choice of colours results in a subtle unity: the deadly character of this Old Testament murder is depicted in a variety of carefully nuanced shades of red. The style of Cranach's Wittenberg paintings -- regardless of the subject -- is unmistakable: his compositions are always two-dimensional without reference to the surrounding space and usually also have a decorative effect.'