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Article: Cranach Family
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CRANACH FAMILY
CRANACH FAMILY.
Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472
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1553), Saxon court painter and printmaker, Wittenberg city alderman (1519
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1545) and mayor (1537/38, 1540/41, and 1543/44), owner of a Wittenberg printing business, apothecary and book shops, and a wine monopoly, was the most important member of this six-generation dynasty. Son of Hans Maler ("Hans the Painter," 1448
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1528), presumably his first teacher, and grandson of Lucas Maler (1420
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1488), Cranach was first employed in the ducal fortress at Coburg in 1500. By early 1502 he had settled in Vienna, painting portraits of the young rector of the university, Johannes Cuspinian, and his bride Anna ...