1540
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Hunting near Hartenfels Castle is a 1540 unspecified by Lucas Cranach the Elder, a Northern Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a busy hunt scene in Renaissance Germany. John Frederick the Magnanimous, a German prince, stands in the left corner with a crossbow. His wife, Electress Sibylle, waits to shoot first. They’re near Hartenfels Castle, which you can see in the background. The hunt looks staged more than real. The hunters and dogs pose like actors, not wild chasers. The artist adds bright greens and soft blues to make the scene feel alive. If you like this, look up Lucas Cranach (German, 1472–1553) next.
The Protestant rulers of Saxony commissioned this animated hunt scene, set near their residence seen in the background, Hartenfels Castle (in eastern Germany). John Frederick the Magnanimous, in the bottom left corner, wears dark green hunting attire; he spans his crossbow and waits for his courtiers and dogs to chase a stag across the river. His wife, the Electress Sibylle, stands at right, poised to take the first ceremonial shot. The prince electors of Saxony were passionate practitioners of hunting with dogs—elaborate, highly rehearsed occasions, coordinated by the use of signals from…
Humans, dogs, and deer make up most of the creatures in this busy scene—but not all of them! Look closely at the background to spot a bear and three boars.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Lucas Cranach the Elder was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
