12 March – 12 June 2022
The exhibition ‘Cranach – The Early Years in Vienna’, a collaborative project with Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, explores the early works of Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553) for the first time. Cranach made his mark through his early artistic mastery and is one of the best-known 16th century artists to this day. He was born in Kronach (Germany) and moved to Vienna around 1500, where he created some of his earliest known works for the humanist circles at the University of Vienna. The dramatic imagery of his early Viennese work is strikingly different from the elegant style he later adopted as court painter for the Electors of Saxony. Only a small number of his early works are known – some key examples are now exhibited in Winterthur and Vienna and, supplemented by a number of high-calibre loans, are the focus of this exhibition. The alliance between the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and the famous collection in Winterthur results in an exhibition that provides a unique insight into Cranach’s early work.