Lucas Cranach the Elder

Lucas Cranach the Elder Biography:
Lucas Cranach the Elder was a German painter, etcher and woodcut designer. He was named after Kronach in southern Germany, presumably his place of birth. His early years are obscure, but by 1500, he seems to have settled in Vienna. Here he associated with the humanists of the recently founded university, and two particularly fine portraits, of a university lecturer and his wife, date from this period. In Vienna Cranach also painted his earliest known religious art, prints and posters, of a type which associates him with the Danube School, the paintings usually being set in vast pine woods and mountainous landscapes. By 1505 he had transferred to Wittenberg, securing appointment as court painter to the electors of Saxony. He was ennobled, served as burgomaster for some years, and ran a large and flourishing workshop, which included an apothecary, printing works and bookshop.  >>click here for more