Female Portrait

This is a painting by Lucas Cranach, which dates back to 1530 and is now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

This work was carried out by the Cranach workshop basing on his paintings. The work shows a woman taken three-quarters against a dark background wearing an Arabesqued dress and an elegant plumed hat in the contemporary fashion, which appears invariants in paintings by Cranach and other German painters of the time. People once believed that the painting was the portrait of Princess Sibylle, the wife of Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony. Known for her beauty, she was brilliant at the court of Frederick the Wise. However, the portrait likely reflected Cranach's ideal perception of female beauty without representing a specific person. This type of female painting got discovered in Cranach's paintings created in the 16th-century. Lucas Cranach's depiction of the Female Portrait's outfit is practically impossible. The ring she wears under her gloves is raised higher than the ring she wears over them. This approach allowed Cranach to manipulate reality and highlight her beauty and richness.

The artist skillfully combined red and black tones to complete the color palette. An Imaginary winding line outlines the clothing details, gold ornaments and the elegant hat. From a historical point of view, Cranach's work is the backwater of 16th-century European art. Although he was a prominent figure in northeastern German painting throughout his life, his influence was limited to his direct circles. Cranach's two sons were members of his studio. The elder Hans Cranach died in 1537 and left several signature drawings identical to those of his father. The young Lucas Cranach (1515-1586) played an essential role in the studio co-production around 1545, and since his father's death in 1553, he continued to work in the family-style.

Lucas Cranach (formerly Lucas Müller) was born in Cranach in 1472 and later died in Weimar, Saxony, Weimar, on October 16, 1553. He was a prominent painter in Saxony and was one of the most remarkable and most influential artists of 16th-century German art. Artists related to Lucas Cranach. Although Lucas Cranach was only a year younger, he survived the genius of German artist Albrecht Dürer and lived longer than all famous German artists of the time. Lucas' teacher was the renowned painter Hans Müller, who was also his father. Lucas worked with his father from 1495 to 1498.