Magdalene Altar: St Lazarus

The Magdalene Altar panel depicting Saint Lazarus (1525) is a companion to the Saint Chrysostom panel and together they form part of the complex altarpiece program for Cardinal Albrecht at Aschaffenburg. Lazarus — the brother of Martha and Mary Magdalene raised from the dead by Christ — occupies a theologically central position in the Magdalene narrative cycle: his resurrection foreshadows and parallels Magdalene's spiritual resurrection from sin to grace. The Bavarian State Painting Collections holding separates this panel from the Aschaffenburg-based Saint Chrysostom and Resurrection panels, suggesting that the altarpiece was dispersed at some point in the post-Reformation reorganization of church property. Cranach's ability to sustain large altarpiece commissions for Catholic patrons while maintaining his Protestant commitments reflects both the transitional religious climate of the mid-1520s and the practical reality that major Catholic patrons still commanded significant resources.

The panel presents Saint Lazarus with attributes identifying him within the Magdalene altarpiece program. Cranach's figure style balances individual characterization with the formal requirements of the multi-panel ensemble.