St Barbara

Saint Barbara (1513) at the Moravian Gallery in Brno — patron saint of those in danger of sudden death, a role that made her perhaps the most widely invoked saint in the pre-Reformation German world — was painted by Cranach in the same year as the Adoration of the Magi, at the height of his pre-Reformation devotional production. Barbara's story — imprisoned by her pagan father in a tower with two windows (later miraculously given three windows as a symbol of the Trinity), ultimately martyred by the father himself — was among the most dramatic of the virgin martyr narratives. Cranach painted her as a courtly noblewoman in contemporary Saxon dress, her tower attribute rendered as an architectural element in the landscape behind her rather than as a symbol dominating the composition. The Moravian Gallery in Brno, which also holds the Pietà beneath the Cross, preserves two significant works from Cranach's early Wittenberg production in Central European institutional collections that reflect the historical connection between Bohemia-Moravia and the Saxon cultural orbit.

Elegant, elongated figure fills the panel with decorative grace, the sharp outlines and smooth surfaces characteristic of Cranach's early mature manner. Rich green landscape and precisely rendered architectural detail of the tower provide a complementary backdrop.