Renaissance Lives - 'Lucas Cranach from German Myth to Reformation'

Lucas Cranach from German Myth to Reformation
Jennifer Nelson in conversation with Thalia Allington-Wood (Warburg Institute)

This captivating biography brings Lucas Cranach the Elder into the spotlight for the twenty-first century. The illuminating narrative unveils an artist whose vision transcended personal brilliance as he sought to elevate a nascent nation and foster a sense of community with his work. Perhaps Cranach’s most remarkable achievement lay in forging a robust Lutheran community, endowed with a resounding message of salvation.

Using prints, the prevailing medium of mass communication, and multiple versions of paintings, he developed an intricate and appealing symbolism that resonated with the populace in early modern Germany. Along with Cranach’s more well-known works, Jennifer Nelson explores his extensive repertoire of female nudes, and shows how these seductive artworks not only tantalized his patrons but constructed a deep history of Germany’s notional connections with ancient Greece and Rome.

Jennifer Nelson is Associate Professor in the Department of Art History at the University of Delaware. Her publications include Disharmony of the Spheres: The Europe of Holbein’s Ambassadors (2019).

Renaissance Lives is a series of biographies published by Reaktion Books as well as a series of conversations discussing the ways in which individuals transmitted or changed the lives of traditions, ideas and images. 

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