CRANACH, Lucas the Elder
(b. 1472, Kronach, d. 1553, Weimar)

The Fall of Man

1525
Oil on panel, diameter 15 cm
Kurpfälzisches Museum, Heidelberg

This small roundel belongs to a group of small roundels by the artist that depict various biblical, mythological, historical, and portrait subjects. The example of Italian medals and circular plaquettes and the work of the medalist Hans Schwarz in Augsburg may have inspired Cranach to choose a round format. The production of these paintings appears to have been limited to the period 1527-29.