Cranach in Grunewald

Masterpieces by Lucas Cranach the Elder, the Younger and their Workshop

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  Lucas Cranach der Ältere, Lukretia, um 1535 – Lucas Cranach der Ältere, Lukretia, um 1535 © SPSG / Foto: Jörg P. Anders

• Lucas Cranach der Jüngere: Kurfürst Joachim II. von Brandenburg, um 1570 – Lucas Cranach der Jüngere: Kurfürst Joachim II. von Brandenburg, um 1570 © SPSG / Foto: Wolfgang Pfauder

• Lucas Cranach der Ältere: Kurprinz Joachim (II.) von Brandenburg, um 1520 – Lucas Cranach der Ältere: Kurprinz Joachim (II.) von Brandenburg, um 1520 © SPSG / Foto: Jörg P. Anders

Nearly 30 works by Lucas Cranach the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Younger and their workshop convey an impressive picture of the rulers and artistry at the Berlin court of the 16th century. After an absence of five years, the paintings are returning to their rightful place. The time during which Berlin's oldest palace complex was carefully restored was used by the Foundation's restorers and scholars for comprehensive examinations and careful restoration of the precious works.

Joachim II (1505-1571) was a formative figure in the development of the Renaissance in Berlin. The builder of Grunewald Hunting Lodge is depicted in portraits by the two Cranachs at different stages of his life - as Elector Prince (c. 1520) and Elector (c. 1570). His extensive commissions to Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop include the Passion panels for the Berlin Collegiate Church as well as the series of rulers' virtues (Exemplum panels) intended for the decoration of Berlin Palace.

The surviving panels reflect the Hohenzollerns' heightened sense of representation, but they also show the period of confessional change: while Joachim II's father belonged to the so-called Old Believer rulers, his son pursued a moderate religious policy with a turn to the Reformed faith according to the teachings of Martin Luther. New interpretations of supposedly traditional pictorial themes can also be discovered in the works of the Cranach family.

The high-calibre Cranach paintings are complemented by the SPSG's holdings of Old German and Old Netherlandish paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries. The Grunewald hunting lodge, built in 1542 as a moated castle "Zum Gruenen Wald", provides the historically appropriate setting for the collection.

The courtly hunt in art

The second thematic focus of the permanent exhibition relates to the original use of the palace as a hunting station. A variety of artistic testimonies to the Hohenzollerns' passion for hunting are brought together here - from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. On display are depictions of court hunts and hunting festivities as well as pieces of equipment from electoral and royal palaces with hunting motifs and various ways of presenting trophies.

Runtime: from October 2011

Price: €6.00

Reduced price: €5.00

Reduced price info: Combined ticket: castle and hunting magazine. Only hunting magazine: € 3.00 / reduced € 2.00

Takes place here:

• Jagdschloss Grunewald