Artwork
A Stag Hunt with the Elector Friedrich the Wise of Saxony
A Stag Hunt with the Elector Friedrich the Wise of Saxony is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder. It dates from 1529 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This imagery reflects the courtly pastime of the Saxon elector and underscores themes of aristocratic power and the harmony of nature under his rule.
The painting portrays a deer hunt attended by Elector Friedrich III of Saxony, known as Friedrich the Wise. Lucas Cranach the Elder renders the scene as a dynamic landscape where riders and hounds pursue deer that plunge into a stream, while armed men guard the opposite bank. This imagery reflects the courtly pastime of the Saxon elector and underscores themes of aristocratic power and the harmony of nature under his rule.
The composition combines realistic animal depiction with symbolic elements that celebrate the elector’s patronage of hunting as a noble pursuit. The work thus serves both as a record of a specific event and as an allegory of authority exercised through controlled mastery of the natural world.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on a lime wood panel, a support characteristic of Lucas Cranach the Elder's German Renaissance practice. Measuring 80 by 114 cm, the composition captures the dramatic moment of the "bat-l'eau," when the hunted deer, driven by the hounds, plunge into a meandering watercourse while crossbowmen guard the opposite bank. The landscape genre treatment combines figural narrative with a sweeping natural setting, rendered in oil paint to allow fine detail in both the hunting party and the surrounding terrain.
The painting has been held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna since 1894, where it is displayed in the German Painters gallery (Salon IX), and its condition remains consistent with the museum's long-term stewardship of the panel.
History & Provenance
Created in 1529, A Stag Hunt with the Elector Friedrich the Wise of Saxony is an oil painting on a lime panel by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The work depicts a specific moment during a deer hunt involving Frederick III of Saxony, illustrating the chase as stags are driven into a river by hounds while crossbowmen wait on the opposite bank. This piece is one of several similar hunting scenes produced by the artist during this period.
The painting entered the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna in 1894, where it remains part of the holdings for German painters in Salon IX.
The painting has been held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria, since 1894. Within the museum's collection, it is located in the German Painters Salon (Salon IX). The work is an oil painting on a lime panel measuring 80 cm in height and 114 cm in width.
While similar compositions by the artist exist in other institutions, such as the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, the specific inventory details for this 1529 work are tied to its Vienna residence. No specific accession number or exhibition history is provided in the available sources.
Context
The painting was created for Elector Friedrich the Wise of Saxony, reflecting the courtly fascination with hunting scenes that combined sport with symbolic representation of princely power. Contemporary accounts praised its vivid portrayal of the chase, and modern scholarship interprets the work as a sophisticated blend of naturalistic detail and allegorical commentary on governance. The composition situates Cranach within the broader German Renaissance tradition of hunting imagery, linking his oeuvre to both earlier medieval tapestries and later Baroque interpretations of sport.
Today it is recognized as a key example of early Northern Renaissance art, housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum and studied for its technical innovation and political resonance.
Overview
Lucas Cranach the Elder’s 1529 oil painting presents a lively forest tableau in which the Elector Friedrich the Wise of Saxony participates in a stag hunt. The composition combines a river scene with a bustling group of figures, hunters on horseback, and a distant town crowned by a hilltop castle, all rendered in vivid greens, blues and earthy tones.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving.
