Lucas Cranach the Elder: Head of Christ Crowned with Thorns, 1510

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German princes and those of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, whose cause he embraced with enthusiasm. He was a close friend of Martin Luther. Cranach also painted religious subjects, first in the Catholic tradition, and later trying to find new ways of conveying Lutheran religious concerns in art.

After the flagellation ordered by the Roman governor Pilate, soldiers started to mock Jesus because of his nickname 'King of the Jews'. He was stripped naked and then dressed in a purple gown. On his head they put a crown made out of thorn branches. According to the Gospel of John, this is how Jesus was presented to the people. Cranach shows the face of a suffering man who has accepted his fate.

the above text appears on the back of the card
HC-1319: card size 7" x 5" (178mm x 127mm)