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

The Tournament in the Market Square

1506
Woodcut, 268 x 375 mm
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

Four woodcuts with tournaments have survived from Cranach's early years in Wittenberg. The first of these, dated 1506, represents a joust in the market square of a town, the square equipped with barriers and covered with sand, and viewed from above.

Tournaments, together with hunts, offered the court the best opportunities for portraying itself.