Sybilla of Cleves, Wife of John Frederic of Saxony
Medium
Woodcut
Dimensions
Sheet: 13 5/8 × 10 3/8 in. (34.6 × 26.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1927
Accession Number
27.82.8
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Sybilla of Cle, Wife of John Frederic Saxony** is a striking woodcut portrait by Lucasach the Elder, one of the foremost artists of the German Renaissance. Created around the early 16th century—though the exact date remains unknown—this print captures the noble poise of Sybilla, a prominent figure in European nobility as the wife of John Frederic, Elector of Saxony and a key supporter of the Protestant Reformation. Cranach court painter to the Saxon electors, masterfully rendered her likeness with the intricate details of her attire and coat of arms, symbols of her high status and lineage fr...
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...