Lucas Cranach the Elder
There is a companion piece showing a princess, which we will present tomorrow—so don't forget to open the app! : )
The two children, dressed in characteristic Saxon costumes of the finest type, have been thought to be brother and sister, perhaps the children of Duke George the Bearded. The crown worn by the boy, however, signifies his engagement to be married, and the girl is likely to be his future bride. Cranach, court painter at Wittenberg and the leading artist in Saxony, was in great demand as a portraitist; these two paintings well explain the master's popularity.
Lucas Cranach the Elder was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German princes and those of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, whose cause he embraced with enthusiasm. He was a close friend of Martin Luther. Cranach also painted religious subjects, first in the Catholic tradition, and later trying to find new ways of conveying Lutheran religious concerns in art. He continued throughout his career to paint nude subjects drawn from mythology and religion.
Cranach had a large workshop and many of his works exist in different versions; his son Lucas Cranach the Younger and others continued to create versions of his father's works for decades after his death. He has been considered the most successful German artist of his time.
I love this portrait!
Play the seven errors game with Lucas Cranach the Elder here!