Lucas Cranach the Elder: The Fountain of Youth (1546)

(Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany)

A painting by the German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472 – 1553). The Fountain of Youth is an old story regarding a spring that supposedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. The story itself has its origins in ancients times and since then it pops up regularly in books. The location of the fountain of youth also varies from story to story but usually in a mythical land. Cranach here shows the fountain of youth as a square pool with a column with on it Venus and Cupid. On the right side old and people come to the pool. When they bath it the waters they are rejuvenated and leave on the left side. On the left side the people are dressed in beautiful clothes and are enjoying all kind of pleasures: food, drink and dance. Notice that only women are in the fountain of youth, it was thought that men were automatically rejuvenated when they engaged with young women. Painting from 1546.