The Story
Hunting near Hartenfels Castle, 1540. Lucas Cranach (German, 1472–1553). Oil, originally on wood, transferred to masonite; framed: 133 x 185.5 x 7.3 cm (52 3/8 x 73 1/16 x 2 7/8 in.); unframed: 116.8 x 170.2 cm (46 x 67 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1958.425
Created in 1540 during the Renaissance period, this work belongs firmly within the portrait tradition. Lucas Cranach worked at a moment when the rivalry between Catholic Baroque drama and Protestant restraint reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.
Executed in oil, originally on wood, transferred to masonite, measuring Framed: 133 x 185.5 x 7.3 cm (52 3/8 x 73 1/16 x 2 7/8 in.); Unframed: 116.8 x 170.2 cm (46 x 67 in.), the surface rewards close looking. Lucas Cranach builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
