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Cranach Exhibition at Friedensstein Castle

March 26, 2015

The year 2015 will see three major exhibitions in Thüringen dedicated to the Renaissance painter Lucas Cranach. The first, "Picture and Message: Cranach in the Service of Court and Reformation," opens this weekend.

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Cranach-Ausstellung in Gotha
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Schutt

The Friedenstein Castle Foundation in Gotha announced on Thursday that 120 Cranach works from private collections and international loans will be on show from 29 March until 19 July. These include representations of mythological and Biblical themes as well as pictures of hunting and tournaments.

In addition, portraits that Cranach created for the emerging Protestant church in the 16th century will be on display. The Friedenstein Castle Foundation notes that the reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) would never have become so well known without the work of Cranach’s studio.

The show at Gotha Castle is the main opening event of the Cranach year in Thüringen. Other exhibitions featuring works by Cranach's family will follow in Eisenach and Weimar in early April.

Cranach-Ausstellung in Gotha
True-to-Life: Self Portrait of Lucas Cranach the Elder, painted in 1531Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Schutt

Along with Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) was one of the most famous of all German Renaissance painters. His works are now in museums all over the world. Cranach had a special relationship with the city of Gotha, where he fell in love with and married his wife, Barbara.

fm/ ks (epd lob rks)