Johann Friedrich 'der Grossmütige' ('The Magnaminous'), so-called because of the clemency that he showed his enemies, was the son of Johann 'der Beständige', Elector of Saxony. He, his father and his uncle, Frederick III 'the Wise' (1463-1535) constituted Cranach's most important patrons for almost his entire career, Cranach having been first called as court painter to Wittenberg by Frederick III, who shared the electorship with his elder brother from 1486.

At the Saxon court, Cranach found himself at the very center of cultural cross-currents, moving in the most advanced humanist, religious, and political circles and later becoming a close friend of both Luther and the elector Johann Friedrich. The death of the latter's mother made him from birth the sole heir not only of his father, but also to the electorship of his uncle, Frederick the Wise, who had renounced marriage to avoid further division of Saxon territories. In 1508 the child was presented as the future sovereign by his uncle and father, and in January 1509 his education was commenced under the tutorship of the humanist George Spalatin. It was at this moment that Cranach depicted father and son in his diptych of 1509, sold at Christie's, London, July 6, 1990, lot 42, and now in the National Gallery, London.

Johann Friedrich succeeded his father in 1532 and was to be the last of the dynasty. When the armies of Charles V crushed the Protestant League of Schmalkalden at Mühlberg in April 1547, he was imprisoned at the emperor's pleasure and his lands divided. Cranach stayed with him throughout his imprisonment, following him on his release in 1552 into exile into Weimar, where he was to die at the age of 80 in 1553.

Sold with a letter from Dr. Max J. Friedländer, dated June 26, 1925, confirming the attribution to Lucas Cranach I and dating the picture circa 1530