Portrait Of Johann Friederich I the Magnanimous, Elector of Saxony

German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder painted this portrait of Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous in 1509, when the future Elector of Saxony was just six years old. The oil on wood panel measures 42 x 31.2 cm and forms half of a diptych with a companion portrait of the boy's father, Johann the Steadfast.

The pairing is unusual. Most father-son portraits from this period show adult heirs. Young Johann Friedrich's mother, Sophia of Mecklenburg, died giving birth to him, which may explain why the child was depicted so early. The two paintings share complementary color schemes: green in the father's background echoes the son's clothing, while the son's black background matches his father's garments.

Cranach (1472-1553) served as court painter to successive Saxon electors from 1505 until his death. He painted Johann Friedrich throughout his life, though later portraits show a thickly set man with receding dark hair, bearing little resemblance to this angelic blonde child. Johann Friedrich became Elector in 1532 and was the last of the Ernestine line. The diptych hangs at the National Gallery in London.