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

Portrait of Frederick the Wise in Old Age

1527
Oil and tempera on red beechwood, 40 x 23 cm
Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt

This is a posthumous portrait commissioned by John the Steadfast after the death of his brother Frederick the Wise. Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (1463-1525) was honoured by later historians with the epithet 'the Wise' in recognition of his resolute, persistent and diplomatic political style.