These companion portraits have been identified as Moritz Büchner and his wife, Anna Lindacker Büchner. As a successful merchant and city alderman, Moritz Büchner was representative of the newly affluent middle class that resulted from the growth of capitalism in 16th-century Germany. Lucas Cranach, the court artist to Frederick III of Saxony, was commissioned by the Büchners to paint their likenesses for posterity. Here, Cranach captures the confidence, pride, and ambition that often accompany newly acquired wealth and improved social status. Cranach's signature, a winged serpent, and the date of the painting appear on the extreme left of Moritz's portrait.