Lucas Cranach
From German Myth to Reformation
Jennifer NelsonUnveils Lucas Cranach the Elder, an artist whose vision transcended personal brilliance.
This captivating biography brings Lucas Cranach the Elder into the spotlight for the twenty-first century. The illuminating narrative unveils an artist whose vision transcended personal brilliance as he sought to elevate a nascent nation and foster a sense of community with his work. Perhaps Cranach’s most remarkable achievement lay in forging a robust Lutheran community, endowed with a resounding message of salvation.
Using prints, the prevailing medium of mass communication, and multiple versions of paintings, he developed an intricate and appealing symbolism that resonated with the populace in early modern Germany. Along with Cranach’s more well-known works, Jennifer Nelson explores his extensive repertoire of female nudes, and shows how these seductive artworks not only tantalized his patrons but constructed a deep history of Germany’s notional connections with ancient Greece and Rome.
Unveils Lucas Cranach the Elder, an artist whose vision transcended personal brilliance.
This captivating biography brings Lucas Cranach the Elder into the spotlight for the twenty-first century. The illuminating narrative unveils an artist whose vision transcended personal brilliance as he sought to elevate a nascent nation and foster a sense of community with his work. Perhaps Cranach’s most remarkable achievement lay in forging a robust Lutheran community, endowed with a resounding message of salvation.
Using prints, the prevailing medium of mass communication, and multiple versions of paintings, he developed an intricate and appealing symbolism that resonated with the populace in early modern Germany. Along with Cranach’s more well-known works, Jennifer Nelson explores his extensive repertoire of female nudes, and shows how these seductive artworks not only tantalized his patrons but constructed a deep history of Germany’s notional connections with ancient Greece and Rome.
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Cranach produced portraits of his friend Martin Luther throughout his life. Nelson’s book explores how Cranach’s paintings and prints helped foster a strong Lutheran community in 16th-century Saxony.
'Apollo Magazine
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Jennifer Nelson’s new book overflows with original, fascinating insights. It provides an excellent analysis of Cranach’s career trajectory and the major themes in his artworks, deftly interconnected with the intellectual and religious developments of his time: an ideal exemplar of how to communicate serious research through witty, engaging writing.
'Jeanne Nuechterlein, Professor in the Department of History of Art, University of York, and author of Hans Holbein: The Artist in a Changing World
Introduction: The Godfather of the Reformation
1 The Cranach Brand Emerges
2 The Mythographer of Women: A German Renaissance
3 The Look of Luther’s Reformation
Coda: The Women Look Back
CHRONOLOGY
REFERENCES
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PHOTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INDEX
Jennifer Nelson is Associate Professor in the Department of Art History at the University of Delaware. Her publications include Disharmony of the Spheres: The Europe of Holbein’s Ambassadors (2019).