Cranachhaus
The Cranachhaus is the left of two almost identical Renaissance houses on the east side of the market square in Weimar , directly opposite the town hall . The painters Lucas Cranach the Elder and his son Lucas Cranach the Younger lived here in the 16th century .
history
The eye-catching house, richly decorated with columns, shell niches and round arch ornaments, is an important and listed Renaissance building with a floor area of approx. 1500 m². The construction time of the Cranachhaus was limited to the years 1547 to 1549. It was built by the Renaissance master builder Nikolaus Gromann for the ducal chancellor Christian Brück , who married Barbara Cranach and thus the son-in-law of Lucas Cranach the Elder. Ä. was. Above the right arch is the painter's coat of arms : the winged serpent.
Lucas Cranach the Elder Ä., One of the most important German painters of the Renaissance, spent the last year of his life in the Cranachhaus. The painter, who only came to Weimar in 1552 at the age of 80, founded a workshop in the house before his death and took on two students. Despite his age, he was still active and started the famous three-winged altar painting in his studio (the attic under the roof), which can be seen today in the Weimar city church of St. Peter and Paul (“ Herder Church ”). The work was not completed until 1555 by his son Lucas Cranach the Younger .
The building was badly damaged in World War II and was later rebuilt true to the original. There are other Renaissance houses in the vicinity of the house.
today
Until the late 1990s, the gallery of the cooperative visual artists Weimar was located in the house . The long-time chairman, the Weimar artist Horst Hausotte, resigned in 1991. His successor, the artist Ralph Herrmann , managed the cooperative beyond the European Capital of Culture year 1999. With the “Weimar Out of Frame” cultural city project, numerous international artists were brought into the gallery. The exhibitions by Ernst Fuchs , Friedensreich Hundertwasser , Christo and Jeanne-Claude and Emil Schumacher were of particular importance .
Due to the sale to an investor, the gallery had to move out due to its own needs. Today the house is home to the theater in the vault , which mainly performs smaller plays by Goethe , Schiller and other classics. Otherwise it is no longer accessible to the public.
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 58 ′ 45 ″ N , 11 ° 19 ′ 48 ″ E