(1472-1553) German painter, etcher, and woodcut artist. He was a leading figure in the German Renaissance. He painted many full-length nudes and precise and polished portraits, such as Martin Luther 1521 (Uffizi, Florence).
Born at Kronach in Bavaria, he settled at Wittenberg 1504 to work for the elector of Saxony. He is associated with the artists Albrecht Dürer and Albrecht Altdorfer and was a close friend of the Christian reformer Martin Luther, whose portrait he painted several times. The Flight into Egypt 1504 (Staatliche Museum, Berlin) is typical. His religious paintings feature splendid landscapes. His second son, Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515–1586), had a similar style and succeeded his father as director of the Cranach workshop.