Stag Hunt of Elector Frederick the Wise

Among Cranach’s duties as saxon court painter was to preserve important scenes of courtly life in his pictures. Here we have a bird’s-eye view of a large hunt in which the deer have been driven to the bend in a river, where their only choice is to go into the water. On the other side, the noble hunters have taken position with their crossbows. We can recognise Elector Frederick the Wise of Saxony, Emperor Maximilian I and Elector John the Steadfast.