Biblical scenes
by Lucas CRANACH the Elder

The narrative richness of stories from the Old Testament and ancient mythology offered alternative subjects when sacred themes became difficult. At this point Cranach began to paint cunning young women such as daughters of Lot, heroines such as the virtuous Lucretia and the courageous Judith. In pictorial inventions of this kind he smoothly combined entertainment and humour with serious didactic elements.

Cranach also depicted several variants of the story of Salome from the New Testament.

Preview Picture Data Info
Salome with the Head of John the Baptist
1509-10
Oil and tempera on oak, 61 x 50 cm
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon


Salome
c. 1530
Oil on poplar panel, 87 x 58 cm
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest


Salome (detail)
c. 1530
Oil on poplar panel
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest


Salome with the Head of St John the Baptist
-
Panel
Bob Jones University Collection, Greenville


The Feast of Herod
1533
Oil and tempera on limewood, 80 x 113 cm
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt


The Feast of Herod (detail)
1533
Oil and tempera on limewood
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt


The Feast of Herod (detail)
1533
Oil and tempera on limewood
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt


Judith with the Head of Holofernes
1526-30
Oil and tempera on limewood, 87 x 58 cm
Staatliche Museen, Kassel


Judith Victorious
c. 1530
Beech panel, 75 x 56 cm
Jagdschloss Grunewald, Berlin


Judith with the Head of Holofernes
c. 1530
Lindenwood, 88 x 58 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


Judith Dining with Holofernes
1531
Oil and tempera on limewood, 99 x 73 cm
Schlossmuseum, Gotha


Judith Dining with Holofernes (detail)
1531
Oil and tempera on limewood
Schlossmuseum, Gotha


The Death of Holofernes
1531
Oil and tempera on limewood, 98 x 76 cm
Schlossmuseum, Gotha


Judith with the Head of Holofernes
c. 1530
Oil on linden panel, 88 x 63 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York


Judith with the Head of Holofernes (detail)
c. 1530
Oil on linden panel
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York


Judith with the Head of Holofernes and a Maidservant
after 1537
Oil on wood, 75 x 51 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


Samson Slaying the Lion
1528-30
Oil on beech panel, 57 x 38 cm
Schlossmuseum, Weimar


Samson and Delilah
1528-30
Oil on beech panel, 57 x 37 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York


Samson and Delilah (detail)
1528-30
Oil on beech panel
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York


Samson and Delilah
1529
Oil on linden panel, 117 x 82 cm
Kunstsammlungen und Museen, Augsburg


David and Bathsheba
1526
Oil and tempera on res beechwood, 36 x 24 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin


David and Bathsheba
1534
Oil on panel, 115 x 79 cm
Private collection


David and Bathsheba (detail)
1534
Oil on panel
Private collection


Lot and his Daughters
1528-30
Oil and tempera on red beechwood, 57 x 39 cm
Moravská Galerie, Brno


Lot and his Daughters
1528
Beech wood, 56 x 37 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna



Summary of works by Lucas Cranach the Elder
Paintings
altar retables | representations of the Virgin | St Jerome
religious themes until 1515 | from 1516
biblical scenes | biblical nudes
mythological nudes | Venus and Lucretia | allegorical scenes
portraits until 1515 | 1516-1526 | from 1527
miscellaneous paintings
Graphics
drawings | woodcuts



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