Lucas Cranach the Younger
Also known as: Lucas Cranach der Jüngere
Biography
Lucas Cranach the Younger, born in Wittenberg on 4 October 1515, grew up in his father's workshop, took over its business in 1537 and its sole direction in 1550, and carried the Cranach name as painter of the Reformation until his death in Wittenberg on 25 January 1586. His work for Weimar is the altarpiece of the town church, finished in 1555 as the epitaph of Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous: Christ on the cross, an allegory of redemption, the princely donors on the wings, and between John the Baptist and Luther the portrait of his father, who had died in the town two years before. He lived with his father in the Cranachhaus on the Markt, and served Wittenberg as councillor, chamberlain and, in 1565, Bürgermeister.
Wittenberg, 4 October 1515: born into the workshop
He was born in Wittenberg on 4 October 1515, the second son of Lucas Cranach the Elder, and learnt in a workshop that turned out paintings with numerous apprentices and journeymen under the sign of the winged serpent. When his elder brother Hans died in 1537 he took over the business of his father's workshop, and the house mark changed with him: the serpent's bat wings gave way to a bird's horizontal wings.
1550: sole head of the workshop
With his father's departure for Augsburg in 1550, to follow the captive Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous, he took sole direction of the workshop. The father never came back to Wittenberg; the son ran the house there for the rest of his life, continuing its tradition as painter of the Reformation, in woodcut as in paint, until his death.
Weimar 1552–1555: the altarpiece for the town church
He lived with his father in the Cranachhaus on Weimar's market square in the old man's last year, and after the father's death on 16 October 1553 he completed the three-winged altarpiece for the town church of St Peter and Paul, finished in 1555 as the epitaph of Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous. Its centre panel carries the allegory of redemption — Christ on the cross, John the Baptist pointing up to him, Luther with the open Bible — and the wings the princely donors; between the Baptist and Luther the son painted the portrait of his father. The Cranach research archive dates the work to 1552–1555 and attributes design and painting to the son alone; the city and the parish keep the older account that the father began it.
Wittenberg 1549–1566: councillor, chamberlain, Bürgermeister in 1565
Like his father he served the town. He sat on the council in 1549 and 1552, was its chamberlain in 1555, 1558, 1561 and 1564, was elected Bürgermeister in 1565 and served as Altbürgermeister in 1566.
25 January 1586: death in Wittenberg
He died in Wittenberg on 25 January 1586, aged seventy, having led the workshop as painter of the Reformation to the end. Portraits of the Wettin princes and of the reformers, and the epitaph paintings for churches across Saxony and Thuringia, are the body of his work; the Weimar altarpiece is its best-known piece.
The Cranachs in Weimar today
The altarpiece stands in the town church, the Herderkirche; the Klassik Stiftung shows works by both Cranachs in the Renaissance hall of the Duchess Anna Amalia Library; the Cranachhaus on the Markt, where father and son lived in 1552 and 1553, holds the Theater im Gewölbe; and the father's grave is in the Cranach vault by the Jakobskirche.
Questions visitors ask
- What did Lucas Cranach the Younger paint in Weimar?
- The altarpiece of the town church of St Peter and Paul, finished in 1555 as the epitaph of Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous: Christ on the cross with John the Baptist, Luther and the portrait of his father Lucas Cranach the Elder, and the princely family on the wings.
- Did the father or the son paint the Weimar altarpiece?
- The son finished it in 1555, two years after his father's death. The Cranach research archive dates it to 1552–1555 and attributes design and painting to the son alone; the city and the parish keep the account that the father began it. The question is open.
- Where did Lucas Cranach the Younger live in Weimar?
- With his father in the Cranachhaus on the market square, during the old man's last year, 1552 to 1553.
- When did Lucas Cranach the Younger take over the workshop?
- He took over its business in 1537, after the death of his elder brother Hans, and its sole direction in 1550, when his father left Wittenberg for Augsburg to follow the captive elector.
- Where and when did Lucas Cranach the Younger die?
- In Wittenberg on 25 January 1586. He had lived there all his life and served the town as councillor, chamberlain and, in 1565, Bürgermeister.
- Where can his work be seen in Weimar?
- In the town church, the Herderkirche, where the altarpiece stands, and in the Renaissance hall of the Duchess Anna Amalia Library, where the Klassik Stiftung shows works by both Cranachs.
Notable Works & Achievements
The Weimar altarpiece in the town church of St Peter and Paul (1555)
Portraits of the Wettin princes and the reformers
Epitaph paintings of the Wittenberg workshop
Connected Places in Weimar
Herderplatz, 99423 Weimar
The altarpiece of 1555 in this church is his — finished after his father's death, and on the research archive's reading designed and painted by him alone.
Markt 11/12, 99423 Weimar
The city's account has him living in this house with his father until the elder Cranach's death in October 1553 — the years the Weimar altarpiece was begun.
Historical Context
Painter of the Reformation in his father's succession; the Weimar altarpiece of 1555 is the movement's picture of itself.
For a hundred years Weimar is a Reformation town before it is anything else — and it becomes a capital by accident, because a prince who had lost everything else still had this place. The century leaves the town its market-square gables, an altarpiece the stewards rank among the main works of Reformation painting, and a court that never moved away again.
Read more about this period →Quick Facts
1515
1586
German