German Info: Martin Luther

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A Reformation Painter

Self-portrait of Lucas Cranach the Elder. 1550. Oil on panel. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

Martin Luther had an enormous talent for the written word, and he used it to spread his vision of Christianity. Yet he was also aware that only a small fraction of the public could read his texts. To carry his message to those who could not, he also enlisted pictures. For this he had a brilliant ally in a leading citizen of Wittenberg at the time, painter and printmaker Lucas Cranach (1472-1553).

Born in a village near Nuremberg, Cranach was well established as court painter to the elector of Saxony when Luther began lecturing at the University of Wittenberg. Exactly when their friendship began is uncertain, but in 1520 it had come far enough that when Cranach’s daughter Anna was born, Luther was named her godfather. Five years later, when Luther had left his monastic order and decided to marry, it was Cranach who brought his marriage proposal to former nun Katharina von Bora.

Their friendship continued for the following two decades. During that time, Cranach created dozens of portraits of Luther, as well as members of his family and his circle of supporters. Copper-plate engravings showing Luther as a monk, a theology professor or an evangelical prophet circulated widely during Luther’s lifetime, and helped reinforce his stature as the Protestant Reformation unfolded.

Adam and Eve. Lucas Cranach the Elder. 1531. Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

The Cranach Workshop
Cranach worked with as many as 11 assistants, including two of his sons, at his Wittenberg workshop. The output of the team was prolific. In addition to his countless portraits of leading figures of the age, Cranach produced altarpieces, religious paintings and prints, book illustrations and even designs for the electoral mint. Like his contemporary Albrecht Dürer, he took an interest in the human form, and painted nudes on both biblical and classical themes for a variety of customers. His many graceful images of Adam and Eve and of Venus and Cupid are counted among the jewels of Northern Renaissance painting.

Cranach’s art brought him wealth and status. He owned a large house on the marketplace, became a member of the town council, acquired an apothecary and served for a time as Wittenberg’s mayor. He also owned and operated a press, which was used in the service of the Reformation along with other presses in Wittenberg.

Detail from a woodcut illustrating Luther’s Bible. Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1534.

Printer and Propagandist
Cranach designed title pages and other illustrations for theological tracts, pamphlets and broadsheets by Luther. When the reformer’s translation of the complete Bible was published in 1534, it was beautifully embellished with Cranach woodcuts. Luther is said to have carefully selected the images and specified their placement in the book. Cranach and his assistants also painted panels and altarpieces for church interiors, depicting biblical scenes that supported Luther’s teachings.

Like other leaders of the time, Luther recognized in the recently developed printing press the means for a new dimension of mass communication. He not only wrote, but solicited artists to help him create leaflets and picture books that functioned as propaganda. In 1521, Cranach created a series of woodcuts for one such book, Passional of Christ and Antichrist, to which Luther composed simple verses. Much like modern-day political cartoons, they showed scenes from the life of Christ juxtaposed against those of the pope to support Luther’s view of a hypocritical and corrupt papacy.

Images from Passional Christi und Antichristi show Christ driving money changers from the temple and the pope selling indulgences.

Cranach in 2003
Cranach died in 1553 in Weimar, where his tombstone bears the inscription Pictor celerrimus – “swiftest of painters.” Hundreds of paintings bearing his ensignia, a winged serpent, were produced by his Wittenberg workshop. His son, Lucas Cranach the Younger, worked in his father’s style and extended his legacy. Cranach was not the only artist working for the Protestant cause, and he was not above painting for papists. But his prolific output and enduring friendship with Luther have sealed his reputation as the Reformation’s leading painter.

Germany is honoring the 450th anniversary of Cranach’s death this year with a series of cultural events and exhibitions. A new permanent exhibit opened in April at Cranach House in Wittenberg, where the artist and his family lived for nearly 40 years. Sixty of his paintings and 20 of his drawings, woodcuts and copper engravings are on display through July 13 at the Bucerius Kunst Forum in Hamburg. The artist will also be celebrated with special programs this year in Torgau (Saxony), Dessau (Saxony-Anhalt), Weimar (Thuringia) and his birthplace, Kronach (Bavaria), from which he takes his name.

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More information on Cranach in English