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Lucas Cranach the Elder

The Penitence of Saint John Chrysostom

1509
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
26 × 20.2 cm (10.2 × 8 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Court painter to the Duke of Saxony at Wittenberg, Cranach became a prolific designer, apothecary, political and religious counselor, and propagandist for the court. This is Cranach's most important engraving, in a rare, early impression. It depicts the legendary remorse of the great 4th-century Bishop of Constantinople, who succumbed to the attractions of the emperor's daughter and then wandered the wilderness in penitence.

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