Martin Luther

During his lifetime Luther's relationship with Leipzig was somewhat fraught. His critical position towards usury making him rather suspicious in the German commerical metropolis. In the 1520s and 1530s numerous theological opponents to Luther were active in the university of Leipzig. It was not until the adoption of Reformation ideas in albertine Saxony after 1539 that the followers of the Reformation succeeded in displacing their opponents. The first protestant service was held by Luther in the Paulinerkirche.

In the artist Lucas Cranach the Elder the Reformation movement found a competent intercessor. Effectively the entire visual representation of the Reformation lay in Cranach's hands. He created numerous portraits that circulated among both Luther's follower and his opponents. Here Martin Luther is depicted in three-quarter profile, seated and wearing a black gown. Versions of this portrait type were produced by Cranach and his workshop from 1532.

[http://service.uni-leipzig.de/eMP/eMuseumPlus; 03.2015]