# The Penitence of Saint John Chrysostom

- By: Lucas Cranach the Elder (German, 1472-1553)
- Date: 1509
- Medium: Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
- Classification: Print
- Dimensions: Image/plate/sheet: 26 × 20.2 cm (10 1/4 × 8 in.)
- Culture: Germany
- Credit line: Clarence Buckingham Collection
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/13612)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/8af9f580-f24d-dc9f-a295-c328c2fc8b7d/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Court painter to the Duke of Saxony at Wittenberg, Cranach became a prolific designer, apothecary, political and religious counselor, and propagandist for the court. This is Cranach's most important engraving, in a rare, early impression. It depicts the legendary remorse of the great 4th-century Bishop of Constantinople, who succumbed to the attractions of the emperor's daughter and then wandered the wilderness in penitence.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0