He began his career as a painter as an apprentice in his father's workshop, training alongside his older brother, Hans.

[2] In 1550, Cranach the Elder left Wittenberg to join his patron, John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, in exile.

In this position, he successfully maintained the workshop's high output of quality work, including images of Reformers such as Luther himself.

[3] Although Cranach the Younger was never a court painter, he worked for members of the social elite, including princes and nobles.

Upon his death in 1586, theologian Georg Mylius (1613–1640) stated that Cranach the Younger's work could be seen in "churches and schools, in castles and houses.