Insa Christiane Hennen: Lucas Cranach’s Holy Kinships. Images of God in complicated relationships

Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Holy Kinship, 1510–1512 © Paintings Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

Lucas Cranach the Elder worked on the theme of the “Holy Kinship” several times. One of these paintings is on display in the Paintings Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. It was created around 1510–1512 in the context of the artist's marriage; Cranach himself and his wife, the Gotha patrician's daughter Barbara Brengbier, as well as his father-in-law are depicted as relatives of Jesus. What is behind this strange subject?

Dr. Insa Christiane Hennen lives and works in Wittenberg. For many years, the art historian has been studying the cultural effects of the Lutheran Reformation, which can still be traced today, particularly in the place where it began. In the LEUCOREA research project Ernestine Wittenberg, extensive source studies were carried out and new insights were gained into the work of Lucas Cranach the Elder, his political activities and his real estate transactions.