Portrait of Martin Luther may refer to any oil painting from a series of portrayals of Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach the Elder. That artist and his studio produced countless painted and printed portraits of Luther and it is often difficult to determine to what extent the paintings are autograph works. They often formed a diptych with a portrait of Luther's wife Katharina von Bora or his close associate Philipp Melanchthon.
Cranach was a close friend and follower of Luther who was also active in Wittenberg. In addition to the portraits, Cranach also produced designs for the woodcuts for the first edition of the reformer's German translation of the New Testament in 1522. Otherwise, however, his choice of motifs cannot be said to have been influenced by his Lutheran faith. He painted mythological and biblical motifs, images of saints and executed many portraits – even of religious opponents such as Cardinal Albert of Brandenburg.
The 1526 work from the series in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm is accompanied by one of von Bora from 1527. Both were acquired by the museum from the parish of Söderfors in 1887. Their naturalistic background enables them to concentrate on the subjects' portrayal and to emphasize their hard, serious expressions. The spirit of the Reformation is clear in the images' lack of flattery and expression of a strict ethical stance.
The 1532 work from the series in the National Gallery of Denmark is signed with a winged dragon. It was acquired for the royal collections as early as 1674. Another two of Luther from 1529 and 1543 are in the Uffizi, paired with one of von Bora and one of Melanchton respectively.
Selected works
Image Title Date Support Format (cm) Collection Portrait of Martin Luther 1525 oak 40 x 26,6 Bristol City Museum and Art GalleryArt UK Martin Luther (1483–1546)Katharina von Bora (1499–1552) 1526c. 1527 beechwood 39 x 2639 x 26 Nationalmuseum, StockholmNationalmuseums website (Martin Luther)Nationalmuseums website (Katharina von Bora) Martin Luther 1528 panel 37,4 x 23,6 Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum, Hannoverlucascranach.org Martin LutherKatharina Luther (1499–1552), nee von Bora 1529 beechwood 37,9 x 24,438,2 x 24,9 Ducal Museum Gothabildindex.de (Martin Luther)bildindex.de (Katharina von Bora) Martin Luther and his wife Katharina von Bora 1529 beechwood 36 x 23 36 x 23 Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadtbildindex.de Portrait of Martin LutherPortrait of Katerina von Bora (wife of Martin Luther) 1529 panel 36,5 x 2337 x 23 Uffizi, Florencepolomuseale.firenze.it (Martin Luther)polomuseale.firenze.it (Caterina Bora) Portrait of Martin LutherPortrait of Katharina von Bora c. 1529 panel 38.3 x 24 38.2 x 24.7 Museo Poldi Pezzoli, MilanMuseo Poldi Pezzoli website (Martin Luther)Museo Poldi Pezzoli website (Katharina von Bora) Portrait of Martin Luther 1532 panel 37 x 23,5 Statens Museum for Kunst, CopenhagenStatens Museum for Kunsts website Martin Luther (1483–1546)(workshop) probably 1532 panel 33,3 x 23,2 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (since 1955)Metropolitan Museum of Arts website Portrait of Martin Luther probably 1532 beechwood 19 x 15 Historisches Museum, Regensburgpinakothek.deMartin Luther as Knight George (Junker Jörg) Portrait of Katharina von Bora (workshop)1537beechwood51 x 36 51 x 36Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon Portrait of Martin LutherPortrait of Philip Melanchton 1543 panel 21 x 1621 x 16 Uffizi, Florencepolomuseale.firenze.it (Martin Luther)polomuseale.firenze.it (Philipp Melanchthon)Web Gallery of Art Portrait of Martin Luther(Pendant of Philipp Melanchthon) 1543 beechwood 20,8 x 15,2 Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, KasselMuseumslandschaft Hessen Kassel
References