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Lucas Cranach the elder

Lucas Cranach the elder

Cranach, called himself after his place of birth and may have been trained by his father, Hans Maler [Moller or Müller]. Active in Vienna, Wittenberg and Weimar. Master of the «Saxon-Central German School». Founder of an extraordinarily successful style and workshop business as well as an artist dynasty, whose duration and prominence over several generations is unparalleled in the period.

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Urteil des Paris

Judgement of Paris

Lucas Cranach the elder (about 1553), workshop about 1525, um 1525 Oil and tempera on wood
Bildnis eines bärtigen Mannes

Portrait of a bearded man

Lucas Cranach the elder (about 1472–1553), 1527 Oil and tempera on Beech panel

Works by Lucas Cranach the Elder are among the important acquisitions made by the Stimmer Foundation. The Wittenberg painter ran a successful workshop that produced numerous altar paintings, religious and mythological motifs in addition to portraits. The intimate portrait of the unknown bearded man was probably intended for private use.

Maria mit Kind und Traube (Traubenmadonna) (Restauriert)

Virgin and Child with grapes

Lucas Cranach the elder (about 1472–1553), um 1535-40 Oil on European Beech panel

Cranach's Madonna of the Grapes shows Mary with her son Jesus eating from a bunch of grapes. The motif anticipates Christ's passion. By dying on the cross, he forgave everyone their sins. The memory of the blood that was shed lives on in the celebration of the Eucharist or 'Lord's Supper' during which the faithful take a sip of wine.

Lucas Cranach repeated such motifs again and again in his successful artist workshop. This enabled him to serve a wide variety of customers. The Schaffhausen version was probably intended as a devotional picture for a private setting. The winged snake, the certificate of authenticity from the Cranach workshop, proves its originality.

The Madonna of the Grapes by Lucas Cranach the elder has been in the Museum zu Allerheiligen since 1953 on permanent loan from the Peyer'sche Tobias Stimmer Foundation.