Sermon of John the Baptist, 1549by Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515–1586) Landsknechts in the foreground, merchants & other civilians to the right, with German mounted armoured lancers in the background. Description: St John the Baptist stands raised up on a tree-stump on the left side of the painting. He wears a fur robe and speaks to a large throng of soldiers (some on horseback), nobility and citizens who occupy almost all of the remaining pictorial space. Beneath him in the first row to the right of the centre a man dressed in princely attire is particularly conspicuous. He points with his finger to the right where beside him a white haired man in a fur-lined black cloak stands. He holds two documents in his hand. The text indicates that the recipiant is a duke. |