Kronach -Wittenberg, 1472 -1553 · Court, Reformation and mythology

Elector of Saxony, elegant Judith, naked nymph or fighting saint: Cranach adapts a lively and immediately recognizable line to the needs of the court, faith and desire.

Lucas Cranach the Elder was born in Kronach in 1472 and died in Weimar in 1553. Court painter to the voters of Saxony in Wittenberg from 1505, he directed an extremely productive workshop and participated directly in the visual culture of the Reformation. Friend of Martin Luther, he produced portraits, altarpieces, engravings and propaganda images while developing mythological nudes intended for collectors. The portrait of John I the Constant gave the prince a political presence concentrated by the costume, the beard and the background. Judith with the head of Holofernes transformed the biblical heroine into a court lady, elegant but armed. Judith with the head of Holofernes transformed the biblical heroine into a court lady, elegant but armed. Judith with the head of Holofernes transformed the biblical heroine into a court lady, elegant but armed. The Nymph of the source associates the elongated nude with a moral inscription and a nordic landscape, playing on the proximity between scholarly contemplation and desire. Saint George and the dragon condense chivalrous action and faith. From one genre to another, the flexible contours, the deliberately slender proportions and the precious accessories unify the production of the master and his workshop. The selection "Lucas Cranach the Elder" notably compares Johann I (1468-1532), the Constant, Elector of Saxony and Judith and the head of Holofernes. His reading favors light.

Cranach can change the subject without losing his voice: the same high line serves the prince, the holy heroine, the nymph and the knight.