Elector John Frederick of Saxony

As one of the protagonists of the Schmalkaldic League, the Elector fought in the Battle of Mühlberg (1547) until his capture by Emperor Charles V. Titian, who painted numerous portraits of the victorious emperor and his entourage at the Imperial Diet in Augsburg, also completed two portraits of the famous adversary, among others, this one in resigned pose. It is almost as though Titian, by use of brush-work that was untypical of his style, wished to allude to the Saxon court painter Cranach.