Lucas Cranach The Elder

Cranach, Lucas, The Elder (1472–1553), German painter and engraver. As court painter to the electors of Saxony (1505–53), he lived and worked most of his life in Wittenberg. A supporter of the Reformation, he was a close friend of Martin Luther, for whom he did a number of woodcuts. Among his many portraits are those of Luther (1553) and Henry the Pious of Saxony (1514). Influenced by Albrecht Dürer, his mature style is characterized by highly finished and emotionally expressive figures set in a dreamy and luxuriant landscape.