The Penitence of Saint John Chrysostom
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate/sheet: 26 × 20.2 cm (10 1/4 × 8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
13612
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Court painter to the Duke of Saxony at Wittenberg, Cranach became a prolific designer, apothecary, political and religious counselor, and propagandist for the court. This is Cranach's most important engraving, in a rare, early impression. It depicts the legendary remorse of the great 4th-century Bishop of Constantinople, who succumbed to the attractions of the emperor's daughter and then wandered the wilderness in penitence.
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...