Portrait of Martin Luther

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Sotheby's online catalogue; accessed 13.08.2019]

A half length portrait of the reformer Martin Luther in a black robe, holding a prayer book.

[Sotheby's online catalogue; accessed 13.08.2019]

Attributions: Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Younger
Copy after Lucas Cranach the Younger

Attributions

Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Younger	[Sotheby's online catalogue; accessed 13.08.2019]
Copy after Lucas Cranach the Younger	[cda 2019]

Dating: 1537
after 1581

Dating

1537	[dated, probably not genuine]
after 1581	[cda 2019]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 63.3 x 46.2 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 63.3 x 46.2 cm
[Sotheby's online catalogue; accessed 13.08.2019]

Signature / Dating: Artist's insignia at the top right: serpent with dropped wings and dated '1537' (probably not genuine)

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the top right: serpent with dropped wings and dated '1537' (probably not genuine)

Inscriptions: none

Inscriptions

Inscriptions:

none

Owner: Private Collection
Repository: Private Collection

CDA ID: PRIVATE_NONE-P285
FR (1978) Nr.: FR-none
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P285/

Provenance

- private collection, Belgium (for at least two generations)
- Sotheby’s Amsterdam, 05.05.2009, lot 6 (unsold)
[Sotheby's online catalogue; accessed 13.08.2019]
- auctioned at Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 15.12.2014, lot 147
[Hôtel Drouot online catalogue, accessed 20.11.2024]
- private collection, Paris
- private collection, USA
[E-mail from the owner, 04.09.2024]

Research History / Discussion

'Luther is shown holding the Bible open at the Letter of Paul to the Corinthians II, 10:4-5, presumably his own translation from the Latin　Vulgate. This particular likeness is the last among Cranach's many Luther portrait types. The prototype, signed and dated 1539, is perhaps that recorded by Friedländer and Rosenberg in the collection of Dr. Emile Isambert in Paris [1]. The design was produced many times in the Cranach workshop in the 1540s and 1550s and beyond under the direction of Lucas Cranach the Younger. The portrait of Luther was often paired with a companion portrait of his friend and associate Philip Melanchthon (1497-1522). Good examples, from the hand of the younger Cranach himself, are in the Kisters Collection, Kreuzlingen [2].'

[1] M.J. Friedländer and J. Rosenberg, The Paintings of Lucas Cranach, London 1978, p. 154, no. 423, reproduced.

[2] Exhibited, Basel, Kunstmuseum, Lukas Cranach. Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Druckgraphik, June to September 1974, vol. II., pp. 718-9,　nos. 647 and 648.

[Sotheby's online catalogue; accessed 13.08.2019]

Portrait of Martin Luther, 1537

Images

Condition Reports

Date2009

The following condition report was provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.

"The panel is of a soft wood. There is a vertical join and a vertical crack to the panel descending through the sitter's head. The lower right hand and left hand corners have been restored. There is worm damage to the reverse of the panel and this has worked its way through to the surface where worm hole damage is significant and restoration has been undertaken to reduce this. Thinned paint to the face and the background has been augmented. Beneath a discoloured, opaque and degraded varnish, covering the black robe, can be seen further restored losses. The writing on the book is abraded and there are restored losses visible. Aside from the damages and restorations there can be seen areas of paint in a well preserved condition."

[Sotheby's online, accessed 13.08.2019]

examined by Henry Gentle

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author: <author's name>, 'Portrait of Martin Luther', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P285/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author: 'Portrait of Martin Luther', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P285/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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