About this work
Christ Blessing the Children is a religious oil painting created by the German Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop in 1537. Made and painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder, the painting depicts Jesus Christ with children, based on the New Testament verse "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:14); a popular subject of Protestant iconography in line with the Lutheran teachings of Sola gratia and Sola Fide; salvation by grace through faith, a theme which was depicted repeatedly by both Lucas Cranach the Elder and his son Lucas Cranach the Younger. Jesus is depicted in a dark blue tunic, surrounded by a group of mothers with children with apostles standing off to the side.
About Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German princes and leaders of the Protestant Reformation, whose cause he embraced with enthusiasm. He was a close friend of Martin Luther, and eleven portraits of that reformer by him survive. Cranach also painted religious subjects, first in the Catholic tradition, and later trying to find new ways of conveying Lutheran religious concerns in art. He continued to paint nude subjects from mythology and religion throughout his career.
Where it hangs
Christ blessing the children is in the collection of Wawel Castle.
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