Portrait of a Girl with Forget-Me-Nots (“The Princess”)

The signature and the style of the painting suggest that it was painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder. From 1508, the artist usually signed his works with a monogram and the symbol of a winged serpent; until 1537 the serpent has bat’s wings, which are then replaced by lowered bird’s (probably eagle’s) wings. This emblem suggests an excellent knowledge of the humanist pictorial symbolism. The symbol was probably modelled on the basilisk, which had been used by guilds since the 13th century as the symbol of painters (the earliest attested use is on a seal of the guild of painters in the city of Erfurt). A winged serpent was the attribute of Kronos: a clear allusion to Cranach’s surname in its (incorrect) Latinate form of “Lucas Chronus” as used by the painter (the correct Latin would be “Lucas Cronaciensis”). Kronos or Chronos, the Greek god of Time, was identified with the Roman god Saturn. In the perfected version of his sign, Cranach clearly gave the serpent bat’s wings. The serpent wears a crown and in its mouth it holds a ring, the symbol of just reward. Cranach’s symbolic sign can also be read as a metaphor of painterly excellence, which is justly rewarded by Time (Chronos).