The National Museum of Art, Osaka

Osaka’s National Museum of Art offers a rare opportunity to explore a varied selection of masterpieces by German Renaissance painter and printmaker Lucas Cranach the Elder. Cranach served as a court painter for the Electors of Saxony at Wittenberg and became widely known throughout Europe for the portraits he created there. He painted likenesses of German princes and leaders of the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luthar, whose cause Cranach embraced with great enthusiasm, leading to the development of a close friendship between the two figures. He also produced various nude portraits of classical religious and mythological heroines such as Lucretia and Venus, earning noteworthy attention from audiences captivated by the air of composed and elegant seduction communicated by his subjects. The works presented in this exhibition, the first of its kind to take place in Japan, have garnered praise and fascination from artists and viewers alike for centuries.

Lucas Cranach the Elder Exhibition
• Until Apr 16 • Open: 10am–5pm (until 7pm Fri)
• Closed: Mon (except Mar 20)
• Admission: ¥1,600
• Access: Yotsubashi subway line, Higobashi Stn, 10-min walk
• Tel: 06-4862-5777
• tbs.co.jp/vienna2016/english