Saint Maurice
Original title: Saint Maurice
kurzbeschreibung
Painted in oil on linden wood around 1520–25, this panel comes from the hand of Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop. It presents Saint Maurice as a knight in full armour, equipped with lance and banner, set within a wooded landscape beneath a blue sky.
Description
Maurice faces us squarely, clad entirely in armour traced with gold and red ornament. A striking red hood covers his head, with a white feather or flower rising from it. His right hand grips a lance bound with a red ribbon; his left holds a banner bearing a black eagle on a red ground. Behind him a bright landscape of trees opens out under clear blue.
Context
The picture issued from the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder, one of the leading painters of the Reformation in Germany. During the Middle Ages and the early modern period Maurice ranked among the most popular saints and was often shown as a knight. Such an idealized knight matched the courtly ideal of those years. The painting was probably intended for private devotion or for a chapel.
Impact
Luminous colours and clear lighting give the saint a majestic presence. The armour, worked down to the smallest detail, along with the emblems of lance and flag, underlines his role as a warrior saint.
Technique
Oil on linden wood carries the image, a support typical of the South German Renaissance. What the technique brings into view here is a delicate brushstroke whose glowing pigments attest to the high standard of craftsmanship in the Cranach workshop.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)