Details

Title

Portrait of Duke Henry the Devout of Saxony

Artist/Maker

Lucas Cranach the Elder (German, 1472–1553)

Date

1528

Medium

Oil on panel

Dimensions

22 1/2 x 15 1/4 inches

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Irma N. Straus in memory of her husband, Jesse Isidor Straus

Accession #

63.5

On View

On View - Stent Family Wing, Level 2, Gallery 204

One of the masters of the German Renaissance, Lucas Cranach was a follower and friend of Martin Luther and a strong defender of the Protestant Reformation. In 1505, Duke Frederick the Wise of Saxony summoned Cranach to Wittenberg, where he remained as court painter for the rest of his life. Cranach made several portraits of Henry the Devout (1473–1541), one of Frederick’s successors. In this painting, the sturdy torso and powerful head with carefully delineated features convey the duke’s forceful character.