Painting Detail
Portrait of a WomanArtist: Lucas Cranach
Medium: Painting, Oil on panel, 88.5x58.5 cm
Date: 1526
Genre: Portrait
Source: Provenance - before 1797
This work by Lucas Cranach the Elder, one of the most important painters of the German Renaissance, was once seen as a portrait of Princess Sibylle of Cleves, bride of Johann-Friedrich of Saxony. Famed for her beauty, she was well known at the court of the Elector of Saxony, Friedrich the Wise. But the painting is more likely to represent Cranach's perception of ideal female beauty than a concrete individual. Such female types were often to be found in Cranach's work from the second half of the 16th century: oval faces with sharp chins, slightly slanting eyes and a small mouth. The artist skilfully combined red and green tones and outlined the gold jewellery, curls of hair, details of the costume and elegant hat with a whimsical, winding line. A landscape opens up beyond the dark curtain, perhaps the depiction of some real location.