Lucas Cranach the Elder(1472-1553), who rose to fame as a court painter at Wittenberg, is one of the greatest artists of the German Renaissance. Blessed with a business acumen far in advance of his time, he established a large workshop and mass-produced paintings. He also played a role in the Protestant Reformation launched by Martin Luther. Yet, what has stamped the name of Lucas Cranach in people's minds ar his depictions of such heroines of legend as Judith and Salome, Lucretia and Venus with a singular eroticism in portraits lascivious but intelligent, flirtatious but cool and composed. Cranach's paintings captivated the people of his milieu,and they still exert a strong fascination over viewers,centuries later.
This, the first exhibition devoted to Lucas Cranach the Elder in Japan, will explore the entire scope of Cranach's work and trace his influences on modern and contemporary artists. Scheduled to be held in 2016 and 2017-precisely five hundred years after the Reformation began-the exhibition will offer a rare opportunity to experience the power of the "temptaion" Cranach elicits across the centuries.