Lucas Cranach, the Elder/ the Younger

National Gallery

Many of the paintings in our collection depict saints, who can be identified by symbols artists used to represent them. In this work by Lucas Cranach the Elder, Saint Genevieve holds the candle which she mysteriously relit: http://bit.ly/1FEn6yA

British Museum

Lucas Cranach the Younger died ‪#‎onthisday‬ in 1568. Here’s his woodcut of Martin Luther http://ow.ly/Hq0PT

參考翻譯

British Museum

Lucas Cranach the Younger was born ‪#‎onthisday‬ in 1515. Here’s his print of Martin Luther http://ow.ly/CdMGt

Tune in to Monday’s BBC Radio 4 ‪#‎MemoriesOfANation‬ episode at 09.45 to hear more about Luther http://ow.ly/CgmpQ

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Lucas Cranach, the Elder

(born 1472, Cranach, bishopric of Bamberg — died Oct. 16, 1553, Weimar, Saxe-Weimar) German painter and printmaker. He took his name from the town of his birth. Little is known about his early life or training. In Vienna (c. 1501 – 04) he painted some notable portraits and landscapes characteristic of the Danube school. From 1505 to 1550 he was court painter in Wittenberg, where he achieved great success and wealth painting portraits, mythological subjects, and altarpieces for Protestant and Catholic churches. He attracted so many young artists to Wittenberg that the town became an art centre. A friend of Martin Luther, Cranach became known as the chief pictorial propagandist of the Protestant cause in Germany. He produced numerous engravings and more than 100 woodcuts, notably for the first German edition of the New Testament (1522). After his death, his style was perpetuated by his son, Lucas the Younger (1515 – 86).

Wikipedia article "Lucas Cranach the Elder".

From the Fringe | 18.02.2008

Naked "Venus" Gets Free Ride in London

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Modern Londoners can handle just as much flesh as Lucas Cranach the Elder

Venus has gone nude for more than 450 years. And prudish public officials could not convince her to cover up on the London Underground.

Topless would've been okay, officials for Transport of London said. But the poster for an upcoming Lucas Cranach the Elder exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London went too far. The German master's "Venus Standing in a Landscape" depicts an unclothed, golden-haired woman cocking her hips behind a transparent veil.

Transport officials demanded the bottom half of the picture be cropped before it could go up in the London Underground. The advertisement was originally nixed for going against a rule prohibiting pictures which depict "men, women or children in a sexual manner, or display nude or semi-nude figures in an overtly sexual context."

Museum officials expressed shock that the "Venus" painting, completed in 1532, could be seen as problematic.

"We wouldn't have put a poster design forward if we thought it was offensive," academy spokeswoman Jennifer Francis said.

Decision reversed

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: She does have a veil

John Whittingdale, an influential legislator, described the original ban as "absolutely bonkers."

On Saturday, Feb. 16 transportation officials admitted they had made a mistake and reversed their decision.

The exhibition on the German artist's work is scheduled to open March 8 at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. "Venus" is one of 70 works of Lucas Cranach the Elder which will be displayed in London.

DW staff (th)