A miniature painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder not seen publicly since the end of World War II has been returned to the State Art Collections of Dresden , Germany. The painting depicts Friedrich III , also known as Frederich the Wise , a seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation. The Elector of Saxony is cast on a turquoise background and wears a reserved expression along with his characteristic thicket of beard and fur-trimmed robe. In the early 16th century, Friedrich served as a steadfast protector of Martin Luther , most notably sheltering him in Wartburg Castle after Emperor Charles V had declared him an outlaw of the Holy Roman Empire in 1521’s Edict of Worms. Following Friedrich’s death in 1525, demand for paintings of the great Saxon patriarch surged and few were better suited to the task than Cranach the Elder, who had served as court painter since 1505. Today, roughly 25 of these portraits survive, including the one recently reacquired by the State Art Collections of Dresden.…