Cranach

by Brinkmann, Bodo

• ISBN13: 9781905711130
• ISBN10: 1905711131
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-03-01
• Publisher: Royal Academy of Arts

Summary

Lucas Cranach the Elder was one of the most versatile artists of the German Renaissance, a staunch supporter of the Reformation, and a close friend of Martin Luther. The foremost member of a German family of artists, Cranachs activities as a painter, printmaker and book illustrator reveal his distinctly individual manner and helped him to create a highly successful workshop. Financially more successful than his contemporary Dürer, his impact on the development of German painting was profound. He created striking portraits and expressive devotional works, but also produced his own brand of erotic female nude, as well as mythological and classical subjects. This book records the first major survey of Cranach to be held in Britain. Beautifully produced, with insightful essays, it is illustrated with over a hundred works which represent the range and quality of the work of this important artist.

Author Biography

Bodo Brinkmann is Curator of Northern Renaissance Painting at the Städel Museum, Frankfurt.

 

Table of Contents

Patron's Foreword	p. 6
Presidents Foreword	p. 9
Lenders to the Exhibition	p. 12
Acknowledgements	p. 13
The Smile of the Madonna: Lucas Cranach, a Serial Painter	p. 17
'...that you paint with wonderful speed': Virtuosity and Efficiency in the Artistic Practice of Lucas Cranach the Elder	p. 29
'The Italians, who usually pursue fame, proffer their hand to you': Lucas Cranach and the Art of Humanism	p. 49
Cranach's Paintings of Charity in the Theological and Humanist Spirit of Luther and Melanchthon	p. 63
With Cranach's Help: Counter-Reformation Art before the Council of Trent	p. 81
Cranach's Contact with the Netherlands: Pointers from a Journey Observed	p. 91
The Veil of Venus: A Metaphor of Seeing in Lucas Cranach the Elder	p. 99
Catalogue
Prologue: A Landscape	p. 112
Sturm und Drang in Vienna	p. 115
Influences: The Netherlands and Italy	p. 137
The Art of Being a Court Painter	p. 149
The Pictorial World of the Protestants	p. 185
The Tradition of the Sacred	p. 217
The Observer of People	p. 257
Models for Mass Production	p. 289
Entertaining and Teaching	p. 297
The Flowering of the Nude	p. 325
The Painter's Sons: Hans and Lucas the Younger	p. 369
Bibliography	p. 388
Photographic Acknowledgements	p. 393
Index	p. 394
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