Biblical scenes
by Lucas CRANACH the Elder

The narrative richness of stories from the Old Testament and ancient mythology offered alternative subjects when sacred themes became difficult. At this point Cranach began to paint cunning young women such as daughters of Lot, heroines such as the virtuous Lucretia and the courageous Judith. In pictorial inventions of this kind he smoothly combined entertainment and humour with serious didactic elements.

Cranach also depicted several variants of the story of Salome from the New Testament.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
Salome with the Head of John the Baptist
1509-10
Oil and tempera on oak, 61 x 50 cm
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon

1096*1400
True Color
112 Kb



Salome
c. 1530
Oil on poplar panel, 87 x 58 cm
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest

950*1408
True Color
183 Kb



Salome (detail)
c. 1530
Oil on poplar panel
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest

818*1100
True Color
201 Kb



Salome with the Head of St John the Baptist
-
Panel
Bob Jones University Collection, Greenville

658*1085
True Color
115 Kb



The Feast of Herod
1533
Oil and tempera on limewood, 80 x 113 cm
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

1442*1000
True Color
175 Kb



The Feast of Herod (detail)
1533
Oil and tempera on limewood
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

1000*1344
True Color
192 Kb



The Feast of Herod (detail)
1533
Oil and tempera on limewood
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

1000*1327
True Color
177 Kb



Judith with the Head of Holofernes
1526-30
Oil and tempera on limewood, 87 x 58 cm
Staatliche Museen, Kassel

1002*1500
True Color
167 Kb



Judith Victorious
c. 1530
Beech panel, 75 x 56 cm
Jagdschloss Grunewald, Berlin

1000*1327
True Color
155 Kb



Judith with the Head of Holofernes
c. 1530
Lindenwood, 88 x 58 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

1038*1600
True Color
199 Kb



Judith Dining with Holofernes
1531
Oil and tempera on limewood, 99 x 73 cm
Schlossmuseum, Gotha

1000*1381
True Color
198 Kb



Judith Dining with Holofernes (detail)
1531
Oil and tempera on limewood
Schlossmuseum, Gotha

1000*1314
True Color
187 Kb



The Death of Holofernes
1531
Oil and tempera on limewood, 98 x 76 cm
Schlossmuseum, Gotha

1000*1381
True Color
189 Kb



Judith with the Head of Holofernes
c. 1530
Oil on linden panel, 88 x 63 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

980*1400
True Color
222 Kb



Judith with the Head of Holofernes (detail)
c. 1530
Oil on linden panel
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1019*1200
True Color
256 Kb



Judith with the Head of Holofernes and a Maidservant
after 1537
Oil on wood, 75 x 51 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

1013*1500
True Color
184 Kb



Samson Slaying the Lion
1528-30
Oil on beech panel, 57 x 38 cm
Schlossmuseum, Weimar

876*1300
True Color
196 Kb



Samson and Delilah
1528-30
Oil on beech panel, 57 x 37 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

735*1100
True Color
231 Kb



Samson and Delilah (detail)
1528-30
Oil on beech panel
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

921*828
True Color
214 Kb



Samson and Delilah
1529
Oil on linden panel, 117 x 82 cm
Kunstsammlungen und Museen, Augsburg

800*1145
True Color
156 Kb



David and Bathsheba
1526
Oil and tempera on res beechwood, 36 x 24 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

907*1400
True Color
183 Kb



David and Bathsheba
1534
Oil on panel, 115 x 79 cm
Private collection

822*1200
True Color
213 Kb



David and Bathsheba (detail)
1534
Oil on panel
Private collection

968*1300
True Color
165 Kb



Lot and his Daughters
1528-30
Oil and tempera on red beechwood, 57 x 39 cm
Moravská Galerie, Brno

1082*1600
True Color
160 Kb



Lot and his Daughters
1528
Beech wood, 56 x 37 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

1000*1549
True Color
196 Kb




Summary of works by Lucas Cranach the Elder
Paintings
altar retables | representations of the Virgin | St Jerome
religious themes until 1515 | from 1516
biblical scenes | biblical nudes
mythological nudes | Venus and Lucretia | allegorical scenes
portraits until 1515 | 1516-1526 | from 1527
miscellaneous paintings
Graphics
drawings | woodcuts