Portrait of Moritz Buchner, c. 1520, Lucas Cranach the Elder, German, (Saxony), 1472 - 1553, 16 x 10 3/4 x 3/16 in. (40.6 x 27.3 x 0.5 cm), Oil on panel, Germany, 16th century, These companion portraits have been identified as Moritz B?chner and his wife, Anna Lindacker B?chner. Moritz was a successful merchant and city alderman, part of the newly affluent middle class that emerged with the growth of capitalism in Germany in the 1500s. Lucas Cranach, the court artist to Frederick III of Saxony, was commissioned by the B?chners to paint their likenesses for posterity. Here, Cranach captures the confidence, pride, and ambition that often accompany newly acquired wealth and improved social status. The date of the painting appears with Cranach¡¦s signature, a winged serpent, on the extreme left of Moritz¡¦s portrait.