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The ProjectIn October 2009 eight major museums in Europe and the United States began working together with the Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf and the Fachhochschule Cologne on a research project to provide access in the electronic environment to the paintings of an important protagonist of the German Renaissance: Lucas Cranach the Elder. The project is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as part of a larger initiative to develop new kinds of research tools to facilitate transmission of art historical and conservation information across institutions and international borders in order to advance scholarship and learning. The comprehensive stock of image and text provides the public with a deeper insight into the work of Lucas Cranach and will assist researchers in the future to answer questions regarding attribution and workshop organisation among other things.The Cranach Research Project is now in its third phase (2015 – 2018). The object of this phase is to consolidate and expand the existing network, to enhance the infrastructure and increase the content, and in so doing lay the foundations for an innovative, comprehensive and collaborative source of knowledge on Lucas Cranach and his workshop, which is significantly different from the traditional model of the monographic catalogue.The Cranach Digital Archive serves three main purposes: Preservation The Cranach Digital Archive provides an opportunity for long-term storage of documentary material from museums and private archives such as reports, X-radiographs, colour slides and digital born images. Such material, particularly in smaller museums and private archives, is in danger of being lost within a relatively short period of time. Access The documentary material is recorded, catalogued and commented to provide most efficient access in the electronic environment. The cda serves as a platform from which all information currently housed in different institutions can be made accessible to the public. Research and Dissemination The cda not only provides access to historical documentary material and completed research but also encourages new forms of interdisciplinary scholarly research and teaching. The project staff is actively involved in generating new documentary material, such as dendrochronological analysis and digital IR-reflectograms.