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 (Fagus sp.)

Medium

Painting on beech wood (Fagus sp.)

[Klein, report, 22.06.2020]

See German text version

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[City Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, revised 2017] [cda 2022]

Production date
1525

Production date

1525

[dated, KKL 2022]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 40.5 x 27.4 cm x 1.0 cm (rebate 4.5 mm)

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 40.5 x 27.4 cm x 1.0 cm (rebate 4.5 mm)

  • [KKL 2022]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the right edge of the panel above the sitter's proper left shoulder: winged serpent with elevated wings facing right and dated '1525'; in black paint

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia at the right edge of the panel above the sitter's proper left shoulder: winged serpent with elevated wings facing right and dated '1525'; in black paint

  • [KKL 2022]

Inscriptions and Labels

Labels attached to reverse: Two labels from Nottingham Castle Museum as lent by Duke of Newcastle 1897; one label …

Inscriptions and Labels

Stamps, Seals, Labels:

  • Labels attached to reverse: Two labels from Nottingham Castle Museum as lent by Duke of Newcastle 1897; one label identifying the work as by Cranach, of Luther; Inventory number in red paint.

Owner
City Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol
Repository
City Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol
Location
Bristol
CDA ID
UK_BMAG_K1650
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
KKL-No
III.M7, Part of portait group III
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/UK_BMAG_K1650/

Provenance

  • inherited from the Duke of Newcastle by the Earl of Lincoln
  • 1939 bought by F. P. M. Schiller from H. A. Buttery who acquired it on the 1st of April of the same year at Christie's (Lot 12)
    [Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007, p. 192]

Exhibitions

London 2008

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007 192, 193 40 Pl. p. 193
EditorBodo Brinkmann
TitleCranach der Ältere, [Frankfurt, Städel Museum, 23 Nov 2007 - 17 Feb 2008]
Place of PublicationOstfildern
Year of Publication2007
Show Literature
Hinz 1993 71 f.
AuthorBerthold Hinz
TitleLucas Cranach d. Ä.
Place of PublicationReinbek near Hamburg
Year of Publication1993
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Basel 1974/1976 296 179, 180 (u.)
AuthorDieter Koepplin, Tilman Falk
TitleLukas Cranach. Gemälde, Zeichnungen und Druckgraphik
Volume1, 2
Place of PublicationBasel, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1974
Link http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-diglit-104522
Show Literature
Levey, White 1961 487
AuthorMichael Levey, Chistopher White
TitleThe German Exhibition at Manchester.
JournalBurlington Magazine
Issue103, No. 705 (December 1961)
Year of Publication1961
Show Literature

Research History / Discussion

This closely observed portrait of Luther was painted in 1525, the year of Luther's marriage to Katharina von Bora. It is one of a series of similar portraits which date from 1525 or 1526, and some of theae are accompanied by a pendant portrait of Katharina, suggesting that the present picture may also have been one of a pair. Luther's expression is restrained and calm, lending the sitter gravitas and legitimizing his marriage and his position as a leader of the European Reformation.

[City Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, revised 2017]

  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1525

Images

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Documents

Technical studies

Date2018 - 2021

Support

See German version

Condition Reports

Date2018 - 2021

See German version

  • examined by Wibke Ottweiler

Conservation History

Date1939 -

See German version

Versions

Martin Luther, half-length, facing right
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526
  • SE_NMS_5016
  • Painting
  • Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
Martin Luther, half-length, facing right
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526
  • PRIVATE_NONE-P015
  • Painting
  • Private Collection
Martin Luther, half-length, facing right
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526
  • PRIVATE_NONE-P407
  • Painting
  • Private Collection
Martin Luther, half-length, facing right
  • Martin Luther, half-length, facing right, 1526
  • SE_NMS_5016
  • Painting
  • Nationalmuseum, Stockholm

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/UK_BMAG_K1650/ (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/UK_BMAG_K1650/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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