Portrait of a forty-four-year-old man

The Prague portrait represents, within the framework of the portrait production of Lucas Cranach the Younger, the unique depiction of member of the bourgeois class. At first glance this portrait speaks to us of austerity and moderation, even though the expensive brocade fabric, from which the clothes of the man are made, indicates a good social standing and the corresponding wealth of this man. He is wearing what was at that time in protestant circles an almost obligatory piece of clothing, a black coat with a wide collar (Schaube). The Prague portraits (the counterpart to this painting is the NG inv. no. DO 4146) are provided with the date, the age of the two depicted and the signature of Lucas Cranach the Younger, but there are no details identifying the persons portrayed (names, house sign), and therefore their identity remains undiscovered.