Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg as Saint Jerome
Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder
(German, 1472-1553, active in Saxony)
Date1526
MediumOil on wood panel
DimensionsImage: 45 1/4 x 35 1/16 in. (114.9 x 89.1 cm)
Frame: 55 1/2 × 40 5/8 in. (141 × 103.2 cm)
Frame: 55 1/2 × 40 5/8 in. (141 × 103.2 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN308
Like Cranach's other portraits of this sitter, this work is based on an engraving by Dürer, and the composition is a mirror image of Dürer's print of St. Jerome. Cardinal Albrecht, a humanist who corresponded with Erasmus, was Martin Luther's principal foe, and for Albrecht, St. Jerome was the epitome of the religious scholar, having translated the Bible into the Vulgate. The presence of the lion announces Albrecht's identification with the saint. Cranach was a convert to Protestantism; however, he accepted commissions from Catholic patrons.
On View
On view
Lucas Cranach the Younger
17th century
Pieter Coecke van Aelst the elder
1520s
