Reference number
P02175
Author
Cranach, Lucas
Title
A Hunt in Honor of Carlos V at Torgau Castle
Chronology
1544
Technique
Óleo
Support
Tabla
Measures
114 cm x 175 cm
School
Alemana
Theme
Paisaje
On display
Yes
Procedence
Royal Collection

A hunting scene characterized by a very developed landscape with Torgau Castle in the background and elector Johann Friedrich of Saxony and Emperor Carlos V hunting deer in the foreground. This work is signed with the monogram of Lucas Cranach and dated 1544. It was brought to Spain by Maria of Hungary and hung in the El Pardo Palace, where it is listed in the inventory of 1564.

Lucas Cranach and his workshop painted various scenes similar to this one. Each of them shows the elector of Saxony in possession of Torgau Castle, accompanied by different rulers of that time.

Those paintings, which may have been commissioned by elector Johann Friedrich as presents to other princes during the fifteen forties, have a political meaning. On one hand, they depict him as the legitimate Lord of his territory, with a commitment to the Reformation, as Torgau was the first Protestant church built ex-novo. At the same time, hunting was synonymous with good government at that time, and it alludes to the necessary collaboration among rulers in order to insure peace.

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