Martin Luther, half-length, facing right

Martin Luther, half-length, facing right

Title

Martin Luther, half-length, facing right

[KKL 2022]

Painting on beech wood

See German text version

Attributions
Lucas Cranach der Ältere
Lucas Cranach the Elder and Workshop

Attributions

Lucas Cranach der Ältere

[KKL 2022]

Lucas Cranach the Elder and Workshop

[Wenzel / Matthey 2012, p. 68]

Production date
1526

Production date

1526

[dated, KKL 2022]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 22.45 x 16.0 x 0.3 - 0.4 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 22.45 x 16.0 x 0.3 - 0.4 cm

  • Dimensions of painted surface: 18.9 x 12.75 cm

  • [KKL 2022]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the left edge above the sitter's shoulder: serpent without wings and dated '1526'

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia at the left edge above the sitter's shoulder: serpent without wings and dated '1526'

Inscriptions and Labels

on the reverse: - adhesive label: 'Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel'

  • adhesive label with stamp: 'Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel' and inventory …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • on the reverse: - adhesive label: 'Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel'

    • adhesive label with stamp: 'Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel' and inventory no. 'B96'

  • [Wenzel / Matthey 2012, No. 8]

Owner
Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Repository
Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Location
Wolfenbüttel
CDA ID
DE_HABW_B96
FR (1978) Nr.
FR189-190C
KKL-No
III.M11a, Part of portait group III
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B96/

Connected Works

Katharina of Bora, half-length, facing left
  • Katharina of Bora, half-length, facing left, 1526
  • DE_HABW_B94
  • Painting
  • Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel

Provenance

  • probably transferred from the property of Duke Rudolph August of Braunschweig-Lüneburg 1702 to the university library, Helmstedt, after the dissolution of the university in 1812 it was transferred to Göttingen and returned after 1815 to Wolfenbüttel
  • 1823 first recorded in the library, Wolfenbüttel
    [Wenzel / Matthey 2012, p. 63–69, Nos. 8, 9]

Exhibitions

Madrid 2007/08, No. 127f

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012 63-69 No. 8 Figs. 8-8.2
AuthorMichael Wenzel
TitleDie Gemälde der Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
Place of PublicationWiesbaden
Year of Publication2012
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Madrid 2007/2008 297, 314f. No. 127f
EditorFernando Checa
TitleDurero y Cranach. Arte y Humanismo en la Alemania del Renacimiento [Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza]
Place of PublicationMadrid
Year of Publication2007
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 108 No. 189C
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 60 No. 160f
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1932
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

The reformer is shown here as a half-length figure, facing right against a blue background. His black academic gown with its high collar starkly contrasts his face, which exhibits great detail in execution: he is unshaven with prominent wrinkles around the eyes, the bridge of the nose and the forehead. These signs of outer neglect correspond with his firmly closed mouth and a gaze directed to the right, beyond the viewer and can be interpreted as a sign of inner contemplation and resolve.

[See Wenzel / Matthey 2012, No. 8, 9]

  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526

Images

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Documents

Technical studies

Date2018 - 2021

Support

See German version

Support

- the panel consists of one plank, probably beech wood with a coating applied to the reverse

Framing

- glued to the panel; blackish brown battens with gilded moulding

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 63-69, No. 8]

Condition Reports

  • craquelé with a pronounced vertical crack formation

  • losses and retouches particularly in the background

  • there is a backboard attached to the reverse of the panel, the wooden panel exhibits some damage, at the bottom edge and the side fibre remnants

[Cat. Wolfenbüttel 2012, 63-69, No. 8]

Versions

Martin Luther, half-length, facing right
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526
  • DE_LHW-Lost_NONE-001
  • Painting
  • Stiftung Luthergedenkstätten in Sachsen-Anhalt
Martin Luther, half-length, facing right
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526
  • PRIVATE_NONE-P162
  • Painting
  • Private Collection
Martin Luther, half-length, facing left
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing left, 1526
  • PRIVATE_NONE-P333
  • Painting
  • Private Collection
Martin Luther, half-length, facing right
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526
  • DE_SMS_G2489
  • Painting
  • Staatliches Museum Schwerin, Kunstsammlungen Schlösser, Gärten
Martin Luther, half-length, facing right
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526
  • PRIVATE_NONE-P404
  • Painting
  • Private Collection
Martin Luther, half-length, facing right
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526
  • PRIVATE_NONE-P405
  • Painting
  • Private Collection
Martin Luther, half-length, facing right
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526
  • DE_SHLM_NONE-005
  • Painting
  • Private Collection
Martin Luther, half-length, facing right
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526
  • DE_WSE_M0065
  • Painting
  • Wartburg-Stiftung, Eisenach
Martin Luther, bust-length, facing left
  • Martin Luther, bust-length, facing left, as of 1533
  • DE_SAOH_2000-3a
  • Painting
  • Stiftung August Ohm, Hamburg

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Martin Luther, half-length, facing right', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B96/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Martin Luther, half-length, facing right', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/DE_HABW_B96/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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