Customer Reviews

Lucas Cranach, his Life, his World, his Pict

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The book devotes 1/3 of its content to facts about Lucas Cranach and his life, and it devotes 2/3 to the history of the 16th century in what is now north-central Germany. There are some nice prints of Cranach's work, but very little detail about the works themselves. This was a disappointment. There is no information on how he mixed his paints, where he got his paints, when he transferred a work from panel to canvas. These are things one would expect in a work on Cranach.

This is a gorgeous book,beautifully printed, that sets Lucas Cranach's amazing life in context. It is filled with examples of his art. I'm glad I bought it.

I have seen several actual Cranach's paintings, and this book doesn't do the justice to the beauty of the works. The color quality of the printing is mediocre (especially with the current advance of digital technology). It is small size (not mini) so this also deters from viewing the artworks. There are almost no explanation of the paintings. The only positive aspect of the book is its concise explanation of the historical background during Cranach's lifetime such as his association with Martin Luther from the time of his birth to death, year by year. It was interesting to find that Cranach's association with Luther, and his business success which allowed him to have a large workshop, and by his late 40's, his paintings were mostly painted by his assistants (which shows when you look at his late paintings). My book had some damage so I returned it, but even if it didn't, I probably would have returned it as the color printing of the paintings and the texts were mediocre.