Frederick the Wise in Prayer before the Virgin and Child
1490–1553
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
sheet: 14 7/16 x 8 7/8 in. (36.6 x 22.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
Accession Number
26.106.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the woodcut *Frederick the Wise in Prayer before the Virgin and Child*, Lucas Cranach the Elder captures a moment of profound devotion. Created during the artist's prolific career (1472–1553), this print depicts Frederick III, Elector of Saxony—known as Frederick the Wise—kneeling in prayer before the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child. A master of the Northern Renaissance, Cranach blended intricate detail with bold contrasts, producing images that were both spiritually resonant and widely accessible. As a pioneering German printmaker and court artist to the Saxon rulers, Cranach often portr...
About the Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder · 1472–1553
Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472-1553) was one of the most prominent German Renaissance painters and a key artistic figure of the Protestant Reformation. Born in Kronach, Franconia, to the painter Hans Maler, Cranach began his career in Vienna around 1502, where he became one of the founders of the Danube School, a movement characterized by expressive landscape painting and emotional force. His ea...