Do modern women correspond to the ideal of female beauty created in the Middle Ages by Lucas Cranach?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Imagine yourself as God working on a self-appointed task - to create an Eve whose beauty will be considered ideal at all times. As history demonstrates, you will be disappointed with your results. Because physical beauty is not an established set of traits, but an ever-changing composition that humanity develops itself from time to time. So Lucas Cranach the Elder managed to create his own type of beauty, corresponding to his era and the trends of his time.

Age of Cranach the Elder

The Renaissance was at one time a cultural revolution that spread from Florence in 1400 throughout Italy and Europe. Its driving force was the philosophy of humanism, which sought to resurrect the art of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Previously, artists were limited to stereotyped religious iconography. And during the Renaissance, masters began to reproduce antique paintings and copy the discovered antique statues. Thus, the perception of beauty by an artist of the Renaissance was determined by his philosophical environment, visual experience ("the view of the era"), as well as the requirements of his patrons. In history, such "deities" are artists who have the opportunity to create the ideal of their beauty. But one thing is certain - the ideals that women seek to embody, regardless of culture or era, were developed almost exclusively by men. One of these "gods" - artists is Lucas Cranach the Elder. Consider the most famous female portraits of the painter.

Biography of Cranach the Elder

Lucas Cranach the Elder was born in Cranach in 1472 and later died in Weimar, Saxony, on October 16, 1553. He was an outstanding painter of Saxony and one of the most remarkable and influential artists of the 16th century in German art. Lucas Cranach lived the longest life of any famous German artist of that time. Lucas's teacher was the renowned artist Hans Müller, who was also his father. Cranach's two sons were artists in his workshop. The eldest son, Hans Cranach, died in 1537 and left several signed works. The younger, Lucas Cranach (1515-1586) was instrumental in co-running the studio, and after the death of his father in 1553 continued to work in the style of Cranach the Elder.

Three Graces

The Three Graces are three girls who, according to the poet Hesiod, were the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, a sea nymph. A theme from classical mythology clearly embodies the ideal of female beauty. During the period of the Northern Renaissance, in which Cranach the Elder lived and worked, women were free, little engaged in physical affairs. Therefore, their figures are thin, soft and rounded.

Venus

Aphrodite (or Venus), was the goddess of love, beauty, fertility and prosperity. But most of all she is known for her concept of beauty. Painters and sculptors have embodied her image in their creations many times. And at the same time, the image of Venus has repeatedly changed depending on the beauty trends of a particular period of time. Lucas Cranach the Elder portrayed his Venus as slender, her hair directed backward, and her jewelry complements her physical attractiveness. The neck is adorned with a precious necklace and a stylized cross on a chain.

A thin figure, light skin (even pale blue), large slightly slanting eyes, a certain angularity in the figure, a high forehead, thin arms and long thin fingers - all these features of appearance were very popular in the 16th century. Venus Cranach is the beauty ideal of his time. It is interesting that women went to great lengths to meet this ideal. They deliberately pulled the hair on the back of the head very tight to make the eyes appear larger and take on an almond shape. The frontal part was shaved off so that the forehead itself seemed taller. Women diligently avoided exposure to the sun, so that the skin was aristocratic pale.

Portrait of a Woman

This work by Lucas Cranach the Elder, one of the most significant painters of the German Renaissance, was once seen as a portrait of Princess Sibylla of Cleves, the bride of Johann Friedrich of Saxony. Known for her beauty, she was well known at the court of the Elector of Saxony Frederick the Wise. But the picture rather reflects Cranach's perception of the ideal female beauty than a specific person. Such female types could often be found in the work of Cranach in the second half of the 16th century: oval faces with a pointed chin, slightly slanted eyes and a small mouth. The artist skillfully combined red and green tones and outlined gold jewelry, curls of hair, costume details and an elegant hat with a bizarre, sinuous line. The landscape opens behind a dark curtain. It is known that Cranach the Elder was very fascinated by the beauty of the princess, so it is not surprising that all the heroines of his paintings looked like Sibylla.

Young woman

This is a painting by Lucas Cranach that dates from 1530 and is now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The canvas depicts a woman in profile ¾ against a dark background. The heroine is dressed in a dress with arabesques and an elegant hat with feathers (a very common costume detail in the works of Cranach). It was once thought to be a portrait of Princess Sibylla, wife of the Elector of Saxony Frederick the Wise. Known for her beauty, she was a brilliant figure at her husband's court. The portrait reflects Cranach's ideal perception of female beauty. It is almost impossible to repeat the outfit in the female portrait of Lucas Cranach. The artist skillfully combines red and black tones in his work. Sinuous lines accentuate garment details, gold jewelry and an elegant hat.

The standard of female beauty Cranach

Cranach's style of portraying women during the Northern Renaissance clearly contrasts with the magnificent women of the Italian Renaissance. Venus of Cranach is long-legged, thin, angularly adolescent, has a very girlish form, anemic figure.

The main features of female beauty of the "Cranach type":1. Slim slender figure 2. Rich jewelry / luxurious outfit 3. Oval face 4. Pointed chin 5. Light skin 6. Slightly slanted gaze 7. Small mouth