Lucas Cranach the Elder

Timeline

1. 1505–1517Wittenberg · SaxonyAfter making his name in Vienna, Cranach arrived in Wittenberg on the Elbe in spring 1505 as court painter to Elector Frederick the Wise, with a salary far above his predecessor's. He was responsible for portraits, castle furnishings, and festival designs, and attracted young painters, making the city a center of Saxon art.
2. 1517–1525Wittenberg · SaxonyAfter the Reformation arose in Wittenberg, Cranach formed a friendship with Luther, painted portraits of Luther and his family, and illustrated the German Bible and polemical pamphlets with woodcuts. In 1521 the workshop produced paired woodcuts for pamphlets such as Christ and the Antichrist. In 1525 he witnessed Luther's betrothal to Katharina von Bora and served as godfather to their eldest son Hans.
3. 1519–1553Wittenberg · SaxonyHe served as a town councillor in 1519–1520 and three times as mayor between 1537 and 1544, while running an apothecary and holding a Bible printing privilege. The workshop produced large numbers of portraits and altarpieces for three successive electors, and also painted mythological nudes. He left Wittenberg in 1550 and died in Weimar on 16 October 1553.