Cranach (or Kranach), Lucas Van

Cranach (or Kranach), Lucas Van an old German painter and eminent engraver, was born at Cranach, in the province of Bamberg, in 1472. At an early period in life he entered into the service of the electoral house of Saxony, with one of the princes of which he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1493, and with another shared five years' imprisonment, after the fatal battle of Muhlberg. He died at Weimar, October 16, 1553. The following are some of his principal works: Adam and Eve in Paradise; St. John Preaching in the Wilderness; The Passion of Our Saviour, in fourteen prints; The Twelve Apostles; St. Christopher Carrying the Infant Jesus. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.; Spooner, Biog. Hist. of the Fine Arts, s.v.