Portrait of Philipp Melanchthon by Lucas Cranach the Younger

Portrait of Philipp Melanchthon 1559

wood

portrait

11_renaissance

oil painting

portrait reference

portrait head and shoulder

animal portrait

13_16th-century

wood

animal drawing portrait

portrait drawing

facial portrait

portrait art

fine art portrait

digital portrait

Lucas Cranach the Younger's "Portrait of Philipp Melanchthon" (1559) depicts the German theologian and reformer holding a book in his hands. The painting is notable for its realistic depiction of Melanchthon's features, including his wrinkles and receding hairline. His scholarly attire, featuring a fur-trimmed coat and a red collar, further emphasizes his intellectual status. The work reflects the artistic conventions of the German Renaissance, capturing the sitter's likeness with meticulous detail and a sense of gravitas. The oil on panel painting is now housed in the Städel Museum.

Comments

stadelmuseum over 1 year ago

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These companion portraits of the two Wittenberg reformators Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon were reunited in the Städel in 2010. The lively modelling of their faces exemplifies the superb painting skills of Lucas Cranach the Younger. The portraits not only needed to portray the sitters in a lifelike manner, however, but also to depict their accomplishments. For this the artist arrived at an original solution. Both reformers display their writings to the viewer – Luther’s in German and Melanchthon’s in Latin and Greek. The two figures were also characterized in different and interesting ways. While Luther appears to nearly burst the picture frame with the considerable bulk of his body, Melanchthon seems comparatively fragile and, moreover, entirely attuned to Luther’s dominating form.