Portrait of a Man
Medium
Oil on alder
Dimensions
22 x 16 3/4 in. (55.9 x 42.5 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931
Accession Number
32.100.61
Tags
Art Historical Context
Lucas Cranach the Elder created this intimate portrait in 1537, during the height of the Northern Renaissance in Germany. As court painter to the Electors of Saxony and a close associate of Martin Luther, Cranach produced numerous portraits that captured the likenesses of prominent figures while reflecting the era’s shifting religious and cultural landscape. Though the sitter remains unidentified, the work exemplifies the period’s growing interest in individualized representation. Painted in oil on alder, a fine-grained wood favored by Northern European artists for its smooth surface and dura...
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...