Three princesses of Saxony, Sibylla, Emilia and Sidonia, daughters of Duke Heinrich of Frommen 1535

Curator: Isn’t it interesting how a painting from 1535 can feel so… reserved, even shy? Editor: Reserved is a good word. This is Lucas Cranach the Elder's "Three Princesses of Saxony." Look at these young women; you could line them up with members of some secret society. Curator: Definitely secret! Their eyes have this glassy quality, a sense of secrets held behind very tight corsets, which reminds me of what Virginia Woolf says about the layers we wear. Editor: Corsets both literal and metaphorical. Considering the time, this painting is undeniably about dynastic power. Cranach was court painter. Depicting these princesses, daughters of Duke Heinrich, secured alliances, emphasized the family's bloodline. It was all very calculated. Curator: Calculated, perhaps, but even within the tight structure of court painting, there's room for Cranach's artistic sensibility. Do you see the texture of those plumes on their heads? Each looks individually shaped by the breeze. There's playfulness in their adornments. Editor: Absolutely, the material culture here speaks volumes about status. Velvet, gold, those incredible feathered hats! Each jewel strategically placed, reflecting the light and, of course, reinforcing a particular image. Curator: All that adornment becomes a mask, doesn’t it? They are there, but what version? It is an odd painting with these little frozen birds that were very high born ladies. Editor: And that frozen quality, that stiff posture… it's not just aesthetic. The gaze and how women were portrayed then reflect the patriarchal structures. They are being presented as valuable, yet submissive, assets. Curator: Looking closer, one could interpret an ever-so-slight shift, an individualized almost shy expression of identity emerging from what must be like suffocating in responsibility! Am I reading too much? Editor: No, that’s fair! I see the balance he seems to find by using the constraints, by hinting and reminding the elite that there’s power in his artistry, too, but perhaps it comes from knowing their stories outside the frame? Curator: Maybe imagining their dreams? Beautiful—thank you for these new ways of reading! Editor: My pleasure; together we always unearth surprising ways to look at images, opening up spaces for crucial dialogues on the art we make and receive, doesn't it?