Cranach
Exhibition of the work of Lucas Cranach at the Royal Academy.
This was a stunning exhibition as it confounded my previously held impressions of Cranach’s work. I’d thought of him as a painter of Adam and Eve’s and slightly dodgy Venus’s however the early part of this exhibition showed him as a talented painter in the Northern European tradition. He became the painter for the court of the Electors of Saxony working not only on paintings but also banners and decorations.
The tape tour also showed him as a business man. He became the only apothecary in Wittenberg thereby having access to cheap pigments and controlling the supply. He was also a printer and at that time painted portraits of boards of the same size and wood as the end blocks of books. It also showed his role in the early reformation and his relationship with Martin Luther, however he also managed to continue to work for Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg painting him as St Jerome in his study.
To play favourites in the exhibition it must be am amazing double picture of Christ and either the virgin or Magdalene in tempera on parchment. The Christ in particular was so realistic with a very fine gentle finish. I also loved “The mystic marriage of St Catherine” which showed Catherine St Barbara, St Margaret and St Dorothea almost as ladies at the court of the Virgin. Each was dressed in fine court dress and this reflected Cranach’s apparent interest in dress and how it worked.
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This was a stunning exhibition as it confounded my previously held impressions of Cranach’s work. I’d thought of him as a painter of Adam and Eve’s and slightly dodgy Venus’s however the early part of this exhibition showed him as a talented painter in the Northern European tradition. He became the painter for the court of the Electors of Saxony working not only on paintings but also banners and decorations.
The tape tour also showed him as a business man. He became the only apothecary in Wittenberg thereby having access to cheap pigments and controlling the supply. He was also a printer and at that time painted portraits of boards of the same size and wood as the end blocks of books. It also showed his role in the early reformation and his relationship with Martin Luther, however he also managed to continue to work for Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg painting him as St Jerome in his study.
To play favourites in the exhibition it must be am amazing double picture of Christ and either the virgin or Magdalene in tempera on parchment. The Christ in particular was so realistic with a very fine gentle finish. I also loved “The mystic marriage of St Catherine” which showed Catherine St Barbara, St Margaret and St Dorothea almost as ladies at the court of the Virgin. Each was dressed in fine court dress and this reflected Cranach’s apparent interest in dress and how it worked.
Reviews
Times
Observer
Daily Telegraph
Independent
Evening Standard
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