Artwork
Johann the Steadfast, son of Duke Ernst, died 1532
Johann the Steadfast, son of Duke Ernst, died 1532 is an unspecified painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Younger. It is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work belongs to the portrait genre and was created in 1579 for the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it remains in the collection.
The portrait shows John, Elector of Saxony, known as Johann the Steadfast, son of Duke Ernst, who died in 1532. He is rendered in the characteristic style of Lucas Cranach the Younger, emphasizing his status within the Saxon court. The work belongs to the portrait genre and was created in 1579 for the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it remains in the collection. Its iconography conveys the subject's noble lineage and political significance in the region.
History & Provenance
The portrait was commissioned by the Elector of Saxony to commemorate Johann the Steadfast, son of Duke Ernst, who died in 1532. It was created in 1579 by Lucas Cranach the Younger and has remained in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna since its inception, where it is currently displayed.
The painting is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, as recorded in its institutional and Wikidata documentation. It is catalogued there as a portrait by Lucas Cranach the Younger, dated 1579, and depicts John, Elector of Saxony.
No specific inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented beyond its current placement within the Kunsthistorisches Museum's holdings.
Context
The portrait of Johann the Steadfast, son of Duke Ernst, was created in 1579 by Lucas Cranach the Younger for the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It depicts John, Elector of Saxony, and is classified as a portrait within the museum's collection. Scholars note its significance within Cranach's oeuvre and its representation of Saxony's aristocratic lineage, situating the work amid the broader narrative of Renaissance portraiture and courtly identity in 16th-century Germany.
The painting's reception has been shaped by its provenance and subject matter, reflecting contemporary interests in genealogical representation among German nobility.
Overview
This portrait, created by Lucas Cranach the Younger in 1590, is a representation of Johann the Steadfast, Elector of Saxony. It is a characteristic work of the Northern Renaissance.
Technique & Style
Cranach the Younger's use of detailed texture, such as the tiny black dots on the subject's fur hat and coat, demonstrates his skill as a portraitist. The plain blue background and gold border with inscriptions frame the subject.
Artist & collection
Artist
Lucas Cranach the Younger (German: Lucas Cranach der Jüngere, IPA:; 4 October 1515 – 25 January 1586) was a German Renaissance painter and portraitist, the son of Lucas Cranach the Elder and brother of Hans Cranach.
Johann Friedrich I, the Magnanimous, Elector of Saxony
Albrecht I
King Siegreich
Porträt des König Philipp I. des Schönen
Friedrich I. the Strict, son of Friedrich the Brave of Meissen and Thuringia, died 1428
Portrait of the Elector John Frederic the Magnanimous of Saxony (1503-1554)
Heinrich the Lion, Duke, grandson of Heinrich the Black, died 1195