Moscow museums are closed on Mondays. But this does not mean that the public does not have the opportunity to become acquainted with beauty. The editors launched a website especially for Mondays new section“10 Unknowns”, in which we introduce you to ten works of world art from the collection of Moscow museums, united by one theme. Print out our guide and feel free to take it to the museum starting Tuesday.
The exhibition "Cranachs. Between the Renaissance and Mannerism" opened at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. 48 paintings and more than 50 graphic works from the collections of museums in Gotha, Berlin, Madrid, Prague, Budapest, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and several Russian private collections reflect different stages in the development of the creative tradition of the Cranach family.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, "Venus and Cupid", 1509
First of all, when you come to an exhibition at the Pushkin Museum, you need to understand that there were at least four Cranachs: Lucas Cranach the Elder, Hans Cranach and Lucas Cranach the Younger - his sons, and Lucas III Cranach - his grandson. At the same time, Lucas Cranach the Elder also had a whole workshop that completed his works or, conversely, carried out the preparatory stages.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, "The Mystical Betrothal of Saint Catherine of Alexandria to Saints Barbara, Dorothea and Margaret", 1510s
Lucas Cranach the Elder. "The Mystical Betrothal of Saint Catherine of Alexandria to Saints Barbara, Dorothea and Margaret", 1510s
TO the best works Lucas Cranach the Elder’s painting “The Mystical Betrothal of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with Saints Dorothea, Margaret and Barbara”, executed in the second half of the 1510s, is attributed. In the painting, the mystical betrothal of St. Catherine takes place against the backdrop of a characteristic rocky landscape of northern nature and a dark curtain held by little angels. In the center of the composition is the infant Christ, supported by the Mother of God. With one hand he puts on wedding ring on the finger of St. Catherine, the other touches the symbolic bunch of grapes held by the Madonna. The image is complemented by figures of holy maidens in elegant court dresses and with their attributes: Margaret’s dragon, Dorothea’s basket of flowers, and Barbara’s tower behind her.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, "Christ and Our Lady", 1516-1520
The painting “Christ and the Mother of God” is small in format, but very bold in composition for its time. The portraits of the characters are taken as large as possible, in isolation from traditional religious subjects, which is why the distance between them and the viewer is completely erased. Lucas Cranach the Elder was truly an innovator, ending the era of Durer and the entire Northern Renaissance and opening a new period in the history of painting.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, "Madonna and Child (in the Vineyard)", 1523
"Madonna and Child (in the Vineyard)", 1523
Of course, the exhibition does not reflect even a tenth of the master’s work, but nevertheless gives an idea of the characteristic features of the painting of each of the artists of the dynasty. Paintings for the exhibition were collected literally from all over the world, but among them there are also those that are always in the permanent collection of the Pushkin Museum. One of them is “Madonna and Child (in the Vineyard).”
Lucas Cranach the Elder, "Large Madonna and Child under an Apple Tree", 1526
The painting "Large Madonna and Child under the Apple Tree" came to Moscow from the St. Petersburg Hermitage. If you compare this work with the previous one, you can notice several characteristic features, important for the entire painting of Lucas Cranach the Elder: these are, first of all, the generalized, smoothed features of the rounded faces of the Madonna and Child, narrow almond-shaped eyes and almost no expressed emotions. Another interesting detail - almost everything female characters Cranach has red hair. Perhaps he had one model with which he painted them.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, " Female portrait", 1526
Cranach is always very precise in details: be it details of clothing, thin strands of hair that he separates with golden traces, or elements of the landscape - all this can be looked at endlessly. And the most attentive viewer will definitely notice the famous signature of the master - a tiny winged dragon that can be drawn anywhere.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, "The Fall, Expulsion from Paradise and Resurrection", 1529
This picture combines several biblical scenes: the fall of Adam and Eve and the expulsion from paradise are compositionally located on the left side of the picture, while the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ are depicted on the right. The plots are supplemented with a lot of interesting and unusual details. For example, on the left side, death, depicted in the form of a skeleton, drives Adam out of paradise along with the devil, and on the right side, the lamb of God tramples on the skeleton, thereby symbolizing the resurrection of Christ and victory over death.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, Judith at the Feast of Holofernes, 1531
The plot of this work is also very complex, consisting of several lines. In the foreground, Judith sits at the same table with Holofernes, dressed in 16th-century fashion, surrounded by warriors. And in the background, in the distance near the tents, you can see how Judith puts the head of Holofernes in a bag. At the same time, there is also a large-format painting depicting exactly the same composition with tents, that is, a continuation or the next frame of the plot.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, Christ and the Sinner, 1532
Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop, "Christ and the Sinner", 1532
The painting belongs to the late stage of the artist’s work, when he worked mainly in conjunction with his studio. By the way the faces are painted in this work, one can tell where Cranach worked himself and where he was helped by apprentices. Central images Christ and the Sinners belong to the master himself: his brush painted large facial features that stand out brightly against a dark background. The crowd around, depicted with various expressions and grimaces, was most likely created by his students.
Lucas Cranach the Younger, Madonna and Child, 1537
Lucas Cranach the Younger continued his multifaceted activities in the family workshop, primarily engaged in the repetition of his father’s originals, created in the most different genres– from religious and mythological scenes to allegories and serial portraits. Since his older brother Hans died while his father was still alive, Lucas took over the workshop at the age of 22, and he already had extensive artistic experience.
Lucas Cranach the Elder. “Madonna and Child under the Apple Tree” late 1520s canvas (translation from wood) tempera, oil St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum On the right, on the tree trunk there is a dragon icon. Entered mid-19th century (until 1859).
The image of the Madonna and Child, in whose hands a loaf of bread and an apple is depicted, contains a symbolic content characteristic of the painting of the years of the Reformation: Mary is the “second Eve”, who atoned, as the mother of Christ, for the sin of the “first Eve”. The apple is a symbol of Adam’s fall, the loaf of bread is a symbol of the “body of Christ.” Those. Christ's atonement for Adam's original sin.
Lucas Cranach the Elder. “Madonna and Child under the Apple Tree” fragment
It is believed that the model for this image was Sibylla of Cleves, the bride of Johann Friedrich of Saxony, for whom Cranach served. He was entrusted with the education of young Johann Friedrich. And in 1526, the artist, at the head of the Saxon embassy, arrived at the court of Elector Johann III the Peacemaker in Brandenburg to woo his daughter Sibylla to his pupil. Since then, Sibylla’s face type has not only been repeated in her numerous portraits that came out of Cranach’s workshop, but is also found in the images of his biblical and mythological characters. Cranach painted the image of the Madonna, unusually often for a Lutheran. Luther, with whom the artist was friends, was tolerant of this. Apparently, most of the customers were Catholics.
This work inspired Joseph Brodsky to write a poem, which he called “Illustration”:
In a fox cape - she herself is more cunning,
than the fox from the hill
forest in the distance
the slope rinses in the river,
having escaped from the grove where God is,
when hunting, it stabs into the side
the boar stings an arrow,
where the trunks are raging,
leaving the familiar cape,
came from under the apple tree
fifteen apples - to them
with my little boy.
I tilt my head to the side,
as if passing me by, child,
squeezing the fruit, he also looks forward.
Brodsky, who accurately counted all the apples, is beautiful here with his metaphor - or unintentional mistake: there is no cape in the picture, instead there is red hair, but the cunning squint and the feeling of a fox are present.
Lucas Cranach the Elder. “Venus and Cupid” (1509) was transferred from wood to canvas in 1850, while the format was changed, tempera, oil St. Petersburg, State Hermitage.
In 1769, Catherine II acquired a large collection of more than 600 paintings from the heirs of the Saxon minister, Count Heinrich von Bruhl, which included Lucas Cranach the Elder’s “Venus and Cupid,” the first Cranach work to come to Russia.
On the left side of the piece of paper is the monogram and date LC with the dragon sign.
On both sides of Venus’s head there is a couplet warning against temptation: “Drive away Cupid’s voluptuousness with all the strength of your soul, otherwise Venus will take possession of your dazzling soul.” The author of the Latin distichon could have been one of the Wittenberg humanists with whom Cranach was especially closely associated after his trip to Nuremberg in 1508 (Scholl or Sibutus).
This is the very first known to science of Lucas Cranach’s appeal to the theme of Venus, to the pagan tradition, to a theme that contrasts with what was discussed in Wittenberg, a Protestant city where debates about the Christian faith were popular. However, it was not for nothing that there was also a university there, in which the same learned men could indulge in debates about the ancient gods. Cranach here does what only people like Botticelli dared to do before him: he actually worships ancient gods, putting them on public display. The frontal image of a naked woman, of course, should have shocked contemporaries. There are a lot of references to the work of Albrecht Dürer in the picture: the very placement of the figure on a dark background, the note on the left side of Venus refers to the illusionistic techniques of Dürer’s work. However, Dürer himself depicted only Eve in this way, and not the ancient deity. At the same time, another important plot for Cranach begins to appear in this picture - a theme called German word Weibermacht, "power of women over men."
After 1530, Cranach and his workshop repeatedly turned to this subject. There are about 35 paintings by Cranach, his students, followers and imitators depicting Venus and Cupid.
Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder "An unequal couple (a rich peasant and a young courtesan" (Beginning 1530 Wood (beech?) oil Collection of Svetlana Antonova Moscow
Lucas Cranach the Elder "An unequal couple (an old woman and a young man)" early 1520s wood (beech) tempera, oil Museum fine arts Budapest
Lucas Cranach the Elder "An Unequal Pair (Old Woman and Young Man)" fragment
Lucas Cranach the Elder." Adam and Eve. The Fall" 1527 wood (beech) tempera, oil. Moscow, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
From the "trophy fund": The work "Adam and Eve" ("The Fall") has long been considered one of the main masterpieces of the Gotha collection. The painting, in which Cranach appears not only as a master of the nude, but also as a subtle landscape artist, was acquired by the Saxon electors for their collection back in 1624. This painting was the first to “get out” of the special storage facility. It was first shown at the Twice Saved exhibition in 1995.
Lucas Cranach the Elder." Adam and Eve. The Fall" fragment
Lucas Cranach the Elder was a staunch supporter of Luther. In the minds of people of that era, the Fall was associated with the problem of a person’s personal responsibility for his actions. Lutherans thought a lot about the texts of the Old Testament. The Book of Genesis details the creation of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The Fall, refusal to repent and the expulsion of our first parents from Eden plunged future humanity into the vanity of earthly life.
Lucas Cranach the Elder. “The Fall, Expulsion from Paradise and the Redemptive Sacrifice of Christ (Allegory of the Old and New Testaments)” (1529) Wood (linden) tempera oil Gotha, Friedenstein Castle Foundation
An extremely important plot in the context of the historical situation and for Cranach’s work, existing in several versions and variants, even repeated in book miniature. It is believed that the program for this picture could have been invented by Philip Melanchthon himself, a radical supporter of Luther and ideologist of the Reformation. Here, in a single story, are the views of Luther and Cranach on fate human race and on the relationship between man and God. It is equipped with text explanations along the bottom edge so that the viewer does not get confused.
The allegory begins with the creation of man and the world, the Lord separates water from land, the world, angelic choirs listen to him. Here Adam and Eve commit their fall, and here the fallen man appears, pursued on the heels of Death and the Devil, two main enemies. The devil certainly attracts the attention of the audience with his strange insides with a combination of biology and mechanics, similar to the drawings of crazy people, but one way or another it all sends us, of course, to Bosch.
Moses points to his Law, his commandments.
Lucas Cranach the Elder. “The Fall, expulsion from paradise and the atoning sacrifice of Christ (Allegory of the Old and New Testaments)” fragment
Another scene unfolds in the second half, where this same person in need of salvation comes to Baptism through John the Baptist and the divine blood of Christ is spilled on him, which washes away his sins. Death and the Devil are again depicted nearby, they lie here, defeated, to the side, and above them is the triumph of the divine Lamb, the Lamb of God, that is, the symbol of Christ, and the cave where his resurrection takes place, and here he himself is here with the flag of St. George , the dragon conqueror, symbol of all victory.
And here is a parallel between two eras, the time of the old and the time of the new: here on the right is some Cranach city, obviously in 1529, and on the left is the Egyptian desert, in which the Jews find themselves attacked by wild snakes. This is the worship of the Brazen Serpent - as a precursor, a paraphrase of the events of the New Testament, the image of this serpent becomes an obvious visual parallel to the Crucifixion. An important nuance: except for Moses and John the Baptist, nowhere in this history are there mediators between man and God - neither prelates nor bishops - in full accordance with the five principles of Protestant theology, the five Protestant “Only...”
Lucas Cranach the Elder. “Portrait of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg” 1526 Canvas, transfer from wood, tempera, oil St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum
The Catholic Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg was an implacable enemy of the Reformation, exterminated Protestants with fire and sword and was a supporter of the most radical measures in this matter. The portrait suffered some damage - especially the right eye - during restoration in the Hermitage in the 19th century. The technique of transferring paintings from wood to canvas, which everyone has unanimously abandoned today, has been around since XVIII century, an attempt to preserve paintings on boards from the effects of beetles and other dangers, but did much more harm than good.
Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder. Elector of Saxony Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous. 1528. Wood (bug) oil of the Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin
An interesting story happened in Cranach the Elder’s old age. His pupil Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous, who led a coalition of Protestant princes, was defeated at the Battle of Mühlberg, where he was opposed by Catholics led by Charles V. Johann Friedrich was sent as a prisoner to a castle near Innsbruck. And so the 75-year-old artist voluntarily goes to his patron to share with him the exile and the severity of defeat, leaving the workshop in the care of his youngest son, acting as a faithful vassal of his patron; Moreover, his loyalty was a relative thing. Cranach worked for both Catholics and Protestants and sought to make good business in any situation. There's an artist there lived for five years. When Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous was forgiven and sent to Weimar, Cranach goes there. Fortunately, his daughter lived there with her family. There is still Cranach's grave in Weimar - in the old Jacobsfriedenhof cemetery.
Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop. Portrait of a lady with an apple. 1527 Wood (oak) tempera, oil Prague. Art Gallery Prague Castle
Lucas Cranach the Elder. “Portrait of a Woman” (1526) wood (bug) oil St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum. Entered at the end of the 18th century (before 1797)
This work from the Hermitage is the sum of all Cranach's portraits of women: it shows his stereotypically painted laced suits, and his flatly painted hands, and german landscape, and the characteristic red hat worn by his many Venuses, courtesans and many other characters who came out of Cranach's workshop. In the facial features of the model with narrow eyes and a somewhat flat face, painted either from the front, or in profile, or both at the same time, they see presumably or quite reliably a portrait of Sibylla von Cleves, Sibylla of Cleves, who was the wife of Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous and who could endow many other Cranach beauties with these features...
Lucas Cranach the Elder. “Portrait of a Woman” fragment
The reason for this frequent repetition female image there may also be respect for the wife of the religious teacher (Luther), whose father was planted at the wedding younger son Lucas Cranach and the bride of the heir to the principality, whom the artist subsequently accompanied during the years of captivity.
The jewelry on the neck - according to modern scientists - is not gold, but was made of wood according to special equipment, reminiscent of papier-mâché
Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop "Sibyl von Cleve, Duchess of Saxony" 1535 wood (beech tempera, oil Gotha, Friedenstein Castle Foundation
The portrait is from a museum in Heidelberg, although it came to us from Gotha. At the end of the war, the Germans transported museum treasures to adits in Thuringia and Saxony, and works from different museums ended up nearby. A small image reminiscent of today's postcards, it was something between a leaflet and business card and was based on printed graphics that were colored. The typographic text lists the merits of the person being portrayed. The image of Sibylla von Kleve is distorted almost to the point of caricature. This is especially noticeable when compared with the previous portrait of Sibylla von Kleve.
Sibylla of Cleves (January 17, 1512 – February 21, 1554) was the wife of Johann Frederick, Elector of Saxony. She was the sister of Anne of Cleves, the fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England.
Sibylla of Cleves was eldest daughter Duke of Cleves Johann III and Maria von Julich-Berg (1491-1543). In September 1526, Lucas Cranach betrothed 14-year-old Sibylla to the heir to the Saxon throne, Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous. The wedding took place in early June 1527 in Burg Castle. With Johann Friedrich she had four sons: Johann Friedrich II (January 8, 1529 - May 9, 1595), Duke of Saxe-Gotha in 1554-1566, Johann Wilhelm (March 11, 1530 - March 2, 1573), Johann Ernest (January 5, 1535 - January 11, 1535), Johann Frederick III (January 16, 1538 - October 31, 1565). Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous died two weeks after the death of his wife, Sibylla of Cleves. Together they supported the reform movement.
Lucas Cranach the Elder created many portraits of Sibylla of Cleves. At the earliest (1526) she is depicted as a bride (State art collections, Weimar). After her death, Cranach completed the altar in the Weimar church, where the portrait of Sibylla complements the portrait of her husband. Cranach also created a humorous allegorical portrait of Sibylla in the form of Judith with the head of Johann Friedrich in her hands.
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Lucas Cranach the Elder and the workshop of “Elector of Saxony Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous”, 1530s tempera wood (beech), oil on Gotha, Friedenstein Castle Foundation
The portrait is from a museum in Heidelberg, although it came to us from Gotha. The same story as with the previous portrait.
Lucas Cranach the Elder and the workshop of “Elector of Saxony Johann I the Solid”, 1530x wood (beech) tempera, oil Gotha, Friedenstein Castle Foundation
Like the previous two - small images reminiscent of today's postcards, it was somewhere between a leaflet and a business card and was based on printed graphics that were colored. The typographic text lists the merits of the person being portrayed.
Johann the Hard (Permanent) (June 30, 1467, Meissen - August 16, 1532) - Saxon Elector from May 5, 1525. Son of the Saxon Elector Ernst. He spent his youth at the court of Emperor Frederick III. Participated in the campaigns of Maximilian I against the Venetians and Hungarians. After the death of his father, he ruled Saxony together with his brother Frederick the Wise, and after the death of the latter (1525) he became the sole ruler of Saxony. He was one of the first followers of Luther and in August 1525 ordered the clergy of his country to preach only pure gospel teaching. The firmness with which Elector Johann endured threats to deprive him of his electorate for apostasy from Catholicism earned him the name of the Firm.
Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop "Elector of Saxony Frederick III the Wise", wood (beech) tempera, oil on Gotha, Friedenstein Castle Foundation
Frederick III the Wise (January 17, 1463, Hartenfels Palace in Torgau - May 5, 1525, Lochau) - Elector of Saxony from August 26, 1486. The son of Elector Ernst, whom he succeeded in 1486 after his death. The rest of the estates were managed together with his brother Johann Hard. Thanks to good upbringing, diligent reading and communication with scientists, was distinguished by his rare knowledge of the works of ancient writers. He was highly respected by Emperor Maximilian I and all the imperial princes. In 1502 he founded the University of Wittenberg, the development of which he cared a lot about. From this university, where Luther and Melanchthon were professors at one time, the wave of the Reformation spread throughout Germany. Frederick became a powerful defender of Luther and, after his condemnation at the Diet of Worms, gave him refuge in the Wartburg. In 1519, after the death of Emperor Maximilian, the electors offered Frederick the imperial crown, but, feeling not strong enough for this, he rejected their choice and contributed to the election of Maximilian's grandson, Charles of Spain, who later repaid him with ingratitude. Without openly recognizing himself as a supporter of Luther's teachings, Frederick freely allowed its spread in his country. Frederick died in the midst of the Peasant War. He was not married and was succeeded by his brother, Johann the Hard. His statue is part of the Luther monument erected in Worms.
Lucas Cranach the Elder and the workshop (Hans Cranach?). “Judith at a feast in the camp of Holofernes” (1531), wood (linden) tempera, oil on Gotha, Friedenstein Castle Foundation
The paired paintings “Judith at a feast in the camp of Holofernes” and “Judith beheading Holofernes” from the old collection of Friedenstein Castle in Gotha were first mentioned in the inventory of 1644. It is believed that the artist’s assistant was his eldest son, Hans Cranach.
Here is a clear symbol of female power: after all, with her beauty, Judith seduces Holofernes, who is then severely punished for this, his head is cut off. But besides this story, there is also an illustration of the world of court life, tournaments, feasts and holidays, which Cranach found at the Saxon court and which he had a hand in decorating. Such ceremonial, solemn images, immersed in the landscape, for which, as is known, the Saxon Elector especially valued him, are interesting to consider. Another lovely detail is the food on the table. In the painting, Holofernes resembles Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, a devout Catholic and worst enemy Saxon Elector Johann the Hard, in whose service Cranach was. In Protestant circles, the act of the biblical heroine Judith was perceived as a symbol of brave tyrannicide, the opposition of the German free cities to the religious expansion of Charles V.
The story of Holofernes is presented here casually, as a story about things that Lucas Cranach saw himself, and here his self-portrait comes in handy in the corner. The artist points his finger at the table, at which he himself seems to be symbolically present.
Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop. "Judith at a feast in the camp of Holofernes." Fragment
Lucas Cranach the Elder and workshop (Hans Cranach?), “Judith beheading Holofernes” (1531) wood (linden) tempera, oil Gotha, Friedenstein Castle Foundation
Against the backdrop of the main event, a lot of things are happening: ceremonial tournaments, knightly gatherings, dice players, which, of course, embody the same image of sin and can be an allegory of the sinful Assyrian army, mired in idle pastime - and above all this rises a cathedral in the spirit late Gothic, depicting, according to the books, the city of Warburg.
Lucas Cranach the Elder and the workshop (Hans Cranach?), “Judith beheading Holofernes” fragment
Christian theologians interpreted the biblical story of the Jewish woman Judith, who beheaded the leader of the Assyrian army Holofernes, defending her people, as a symbolic victory of purity and humility over lust and pride. In Renaissance Italy, Judith was most often represented as a young beautiful woman with a sword in right hand and the severed head of Holofernes in the left. It was customary to depict an old maid next to it to distinguish it from Salome, a lonely young lady holding a silver dish with the head of John the Baptist.
Lucas Cranach the Elder "The Fruits of Jealousy" silver Age)" 1530 wood (oak), tempera, oil Signed in the form of an image of a dragon and the date at the bottom right. No later than 1851 collection. Christian Schuchardt, Weimar; until 1873 collection F. Lippmann, Vienna; from 1891 collection - D.I. Shchukin, Moscow; since 1918 2nd Museum of Old Western Painting; since 1924 in the collections of the Pushkin Museum.
Perhaps the plot was suggested to the artist by his humanist friends from the University of Wittenberg, who believed that the righteous earthly life and godly deeds are capable, after death, of returning a person’s soul to the paradise lost by his ancestors. The painting “The Fruits of Jealousy” is probably inspired by the plot of the ancient Greek poet Hesiod’s “Works and Days”, and tells us the same story as the New Testament tradition - the story of the deterioration of man, of how changes occur over time. About how the golden age is replaced by the silver age, the silver age by the bronze age, and each time the inhabitants of these centuries become more and more unhappy, more and more impudent, more and more aggressive, it becomes more and more difficult for them to get along with each other. The group in the foreground is tearing apart a certain girl, for which she was nicknamed “the fruit of jealousy” and they saw in her a lot of different allegories. The Protestant moralizing meaning is still clear: before us is humanity, primitive, wild and strange, it has already been subjected to the very influences of sin, the very events that find their parallel in the history of Adam and Eve. This group could have been seen by Cranach on one of Memling’s altars, now kept in Warsaw. But on the right side here, very stereotypical Cranachian naked girls, whom art critic Bernard Ikema, without mincing his words, will call Lolitas, look indifferently at these events - and they, too, are the undoubted secret of Cranach’s success.
Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop. “Lucretia” (1535) wood (linden or poplar) tempera, oil Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum
One of the most characteristic subjects of Cranach's workshop, sometimes cliched and at the same time quite funny, is Lucretia, who is a character in an ancient Roman story about honor and valor, a model of virtue. Being the wife of a Roman patrician, she was dishonored by the son of the tyrant Tarquin the Proud and had to wash away the shame with the only possible way according to Roman law, she had to stab herself, do it in front of her husband. This event served as the beginning of a rebellion raised by Lucius Junius Brutus and led to the overthrow of royal power in Rome and the establishment of a republic. That is why, throughout the centuries of Roman history and beyond, Lucretia was highly revered. Cranach turns the story into a slightly glamorous topless girl posing, which was naturally in demand and sold very well - there are over 20 iterations of the story. The girls on them always change to suit the taste of the customer. This work is from Nizhny Novgorod Museum and has not undergone restoration for a long time, and was previously in the collection of the Pushkin Museum.
http://www.m24.ru/m/galleries/4816/
http://www.colta.ru/articles/art/10621?part=1
State Hermitage Painting of the XIV-XVI centuries. Editors M.I. Artamonov and V.F. Levinson-Lessing Joint publication by the publishing house Artia, Prague and the publishing house " Soviet artist» Leningrad 1965
Dimensions: 87 x 59 centimeters.
admission 1851
Lucas Cranach I. The Virgin and Child under an apple tree.
The work of the outstanding German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder, a master of the Northern Renaissance, especially clearly reflects the originality German Renaissance, which arose in slightly different socio-political conditions from Italy and was finally formed in the turbulent era of the peasant war and the Reformation. During the heyday of his creative powers, Cranach was a close friend of Martin Luther and left a wonderful gallery of portraits of the great reformer and his contemporaries. His work, fueled by the advanced ideas of the time, just like the work of the brilliant Dürer, meant the final victory in German art earthly principles, secular, humanistic ideals and principles of realism.
Madonna and Child under the Apple Tree" expresses the German folk ideal of human beauty and patriotic feelings of love for native land. The red-haired beauty-mother with a lush hairstyle that falls on her shoulders and, apparently, a “fashionable” eye shape at that time is akin to those heroines who appear in the artist’s portraits and mythological paintings. The transparent gauze covering her neck further enhances this resemblance to Venus, Lucretia or the allegorical figure of the Love of Children. The baby is also distinguished by the features of a correct observation of reality, in whose figure the artist emphasizes the proportions of a child’s body. The apple in his hand and the apple tree with red fruits are a symbol of the Madonna as the new Eve, redeeming humanity from original sin. However, in the general artistic structure of the painting, the appetizing fruits filled with ripe juice are, rather, a symbol of a new, sensory perception of life. The superb background landscape is replete with detailed details of real German reality. It is located in an apple orchard against a backdrop of a landscape overlooking Saxony with a castle and mountains.
Cranach portrayed Madonna as a young woman reminiscent of a princess from German fairy tales. Madonna's clothing corresponds to the clothing of German aristocrats. The color scheme of the painting is varied and rich in noble red, yellow, golden, green and their shades. Madonna and Baby Jesus, with delicately emphasized proportions of a child's body, look carefully at the viewer, as if making it clear that they know everything that fate has prepared for them and they are ready to accept it. The look of the Mother of God's elongated eyes is sad and thoughtful - she knows that she must lose her son. A direct hint of this is the apple and bread in the hands of the Baby, symbols of the atonement of sin.
Lucas Cranach the Elder (Lucas Cranach the Elder, Lucas Cranach der Ältere, 1472-1553) was born in Kronach in Northern Franconia (the artist later used the name of his birthplace as his surname), his father Hans Mayer was an artist and initially taught his son the art of drawing. Where Cranach continued his art education it is not known for certain, but it is believed that he worked in Bamberg and Aschaffenburg, and also worked in Vienna in 1500-1503.
In 1504, Duke Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (also known as Frederick the Wise) offered Cranach the position of court painter. Cranach assumed this position and served at court throughout his life. Cranach served as a decorative artist, painted portraits, altars, woodcuts, engravings, and also designed coins. Before 1508 he painted part of the altar wall in the Castle Church in Wittenberg. From 1508, Cranach replaced his initials on his paintings with a seal in the form of a serpent, and he put it not only on his own works, but also on the works of his students he liked as a symbol of approval. Frederick the Wise granted Cranach permission to monopolize the sale of medicines in Wittenberg, the artist had licenses to sell wine, and was elected several times as a member of the Wittenberg city council. Interestingly, his pharmacy operated until 1871, after which it burned down in a fire. In 1508 he traveled with the Elector's diplomatic service to the Netherlands, where he met the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I at the swearing-in ceremony of his successor, the eight-year-old Archduke Charles (later to become Charles V). He painted portraits for them. A few years later, Maximilian I commissioned Cranach (as well as Albrecht Dürer) to illustrate his prayer book.
Cranach (like Duke Frederick III) was friendly with the reformers at the very early stages of the emergence of the Protestant movement. Cranach first painted Luther's portrait in 1520, when Luther was an Augustinian monk. As you know, five years later, Luther renounced his religious vows. Cranach was present at the engagement of Luther and Katharina von Bora, and he also became godfather their first child in 1526
The death of Elector Frederick the Wise and Elector John did not change Cranach's position at court; under John Frederick I, the artist twice became burgomaster of Wittenberg (in 1531 and 1540). He repeatedly proved his loyalty to the Dukes of Saxony. Cranach ceased to be a court artist after the defeat of Elector Johann Friedrich I at the Battle of Mühlberg in 1547. In 1550 he followed the duke, who was imprisoned by Emperor Charles V. Johann Friedrich was released in 1552 and returned to the north, Cranach followed him. A year later the artist died in Weimar.
First scenic paintings Cranach's works were created on religious themes. But still, the artist was fond of engravings, so he was not as prolific as, for example, Albrecht Durer. He paid a lot of attention to the black outline on a white background without the use of chiaroscuro, which may be why he was not distinguished by his brilliant ability to master color, light and shadow.
At the next stage of his creativity, his main works were portraits. Thanks to him, we now know what the leaders of the Reformation looked like. He painted Martin Luther, his wife and children. He was doing great amount orders from princes and courtiers, as well as many representatives of the Catholic Church (Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, Duke of Alba, etc.). It is known that in 1532 Cranach received an order from Frederick III and his brother John for 60 portraits, it is quite clear why many of these paintings were not himself High Quality. Religious paintings reflected the development of the Protestant Reformation. He created a number of paintings in the “Lutheran” manner, where he depicted Christ traditionally, and the apostles without a halo and with the faces of reforming leaders. Propaganda engravings directed against the papacy and the Catholic clergy also belong to his hand.
Oddly enough, in Cranes he introduced a fashion for small paintings with mythological stories. They were somewhat naive in composition, the figures were thin and elongated, the female nature was almost always naked, or slightly draped with fabric; heroins in wide headdresses were especially common. The same manner can be seen in the paintings on biblical stories. In his later works in the nude style you can trace the influence Italian art of that era: seductive poses, small heads, narrow shoulders, high chests and waists.
Lucas Cranach the Elder left us a great artistic heritage, some of his paintings are found in several copies or versions. This is explained by the fact that the artist developed a method that allowed him to quickly create paintings: both of his sons, Hans Cranach and Lucas Cranach the Younger, worked in his workshop, who actively participated in painting portraits and subjects, the works were signed with the seal of Lucas Cranach the Elder. It is known that the artist had three more daughters. After the death of their father, Cranach's sons continued to create versions of his paintings and now it is quite difficult to determine for certain the authorship of some of them.
Madonna and Child
OK. 1525. Oil on wood, 58x46. Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin, Moscow.
Lucas Cranach is one of the most famous masters German Renaissance. He learned painting from his father. In 1502-1503, Crannach worked in Vienna; later he traveled around the Netherlands and served at the Court of the Saxon Electors (1505-1550) in Wittenberg for almost 45 years. From 1520 Cranach was closely associated with M. Luther. The artist’s work reflected many phenomena inherent in the German Renaissance. The master worked in various genres: painted paintings on religious, mythological, ancient subjects, as well as portraits. Like many Renaissance masters, Cranach was engaged in engraving, mainly using the technique of woodcut. The painting "Madonna and Child" belongs to the mature period of Cranach's work, when the artist identified a special, recognizable type in the image female face, slightly high cheekbones, with an elongated eye shape, finely defined eyebrows - a kind of canon of female beauty, which was repeated in the Madonnas he depicted since the 1520s. The painting was not completely preserved; part of the board was cut off (under what circumstances is not known). The Madonna is depicted against the background of a grapevine (vineyard) - a symbol of the true Church of Christ. Other famous works: "The Judgment of Paris". 1529. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art; "Madonna and Child under the Apple Tree." Hermitage, St. Petersburg; "Venus and Cupid". 1509. Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
The painting “Madonna and Child under an Apple Tree” was painted by the Northern Renaissance master Lucas Cranach the Elder in the 20s of the 16th century during the heyday of his talent. The size of the artist’s painting is 53 x 42 cm, oil on canvas; Perhaps the picture was cropped. German artist Lucas Cranach depicted the Madonna as a charming earthly woman with a baby in her arms, located in an apple orchard. In order to emphasize the role of the Mother of God as the keeper of the light and joy of the world, the artist placed Immaculate Virgin Mary and the baby high mountain, enhancing the perspective with a distant landscape at the foot of the mountains. Both the Madonna and the baby Jesus look carefully from the picture at the viewer, as if letting us know that the two of them already know their destined fate and they are ready to accept it without a shadow of a doubt. The Mother of God's gaze is slightly touched by sadness, tenderness and quiet sorrow - she knows that she must lose her son and find him again in heaven. History of art.
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