Portrait of Martin Luther

Portrait of Martin Luther

Title

Portrait of Martin Luther

[Philadelphia Museum of Art, revised 2015]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Philadelphia Museum of Art, revised 2015]

The spread of Martin Luther's (1483 - 1546) religious reforms, which led to the Protestant Reformation, generated an increasing demand for his likeness. Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472 - 1553) was a friend of Luther's, and from the 1520s onward the artist, his workshop, and his son - Lucas Cranach

The spread of Martin Luther's (1483 - 1546) religious reforms, which led to the Protestant Reformation, generated an increasing demand for his likeness. Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472 - 1553) was a friend of Luther's, and from the 1520s onward the artist, his workshop, and his son - Lucas Cranach the Younger - painted portraits of the theologian in numerous variations and replicas. This composition is based on a gray-haired depiction of Luther that Lucas Cranach the Elder first produced in the late 1530s.

[http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/102552.html?mulR=14164|12]

Attributions
Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Younger
Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Younger

[Philadelphia Museum of Art, revised 2015]

Workshop Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Cat. Philadelphia 1994, 165.4]

Production date
1555

Production date

1555

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 35.7 x 23.2 cm (14 1/16 x 9 1/8 inches)

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 35.7 x 23.2 cm (14 1/16 x 9 1/8 inches)

  • [Philadelphia Museum of Art, revised 2015]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia at the top left: winged serpent and dated '1545' (The date has been altered from 1555).

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia at the top left: winged serpent and dated '1545' (The date has been altered from 1555).

  • [Philadelphia Museum of Art, revised 2015]

Owner
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Repository
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Location
Philadelphia
CDA ID
US_PMA_740
FR (1978) Nr.
FR423F
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/US_PMA_740/

Provenance

  • Gustav Rothan (1822-1890), Paris, until d. 1890
  • his estate sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, May 29-31, 1890, no. 23. With Eugene Fischoff, Paris, in 1907 [1]
  • sold to John G. Johnson (1841-1917), Philadelphia, 1907, until d. 1917
  • bequest to City of Philadelphia, 1917.

[1] Transcriptions of telegram dated Paris, May 15, 1907, and of letter from Fischoff, Paris, to Johnson, dated May 17, 1907 (curatorial file).
[Philadelphia Museum of Art, revised 2015]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Cat. Philadelphia 1994 165 (4)
EditorPhiladelphia Museum of Art
TitlePhiladelphia Museum of Art. Concise Catalogue.
Place of Publication[Philadelphia]
Year of Publication1994
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 No. 423F
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Cat. Philadelphia 1941 43
Authorn. a.
TitleJohn G. Johnson Collection: Catalogue of Paintings
Place of Publication[Philadelphia]
Year of Publication1941
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Cambridge, Mass. 1936 46 158
AuthorCharles L. Kuhn
EditorGermanic Museum, Cambridge, Mass.
TitleCatalogue of the Germanic Museum exhibition of German paintings of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Lent from American collections
Place of PublicationCambridge Mass.
Year of Publication1936
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 92 340 (mentioned under)
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
Parker 1927 17 Fig.
AuthorRobert Allerton Parker
TitleThe Revaluation of Lucas Cranach
JournalInternational Studio
Issue87 (June 1927)
Year of Publication1927
Pages17-25
Show Literature
Cat. Cambridge Mass. 1919 264
EditorFogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass.
TitleFogg Art Museum, Collection of Mediaeval and Renaissance Paintings
Place of Publication[Cambridge, Mass.]
Year of Publication1919
Show Literature
Cat. Philadelphia 1914 13 No. 740 Fig. p. 243
AuthorW[ilhelm]. R[einhold]. Valentiner
TitleCatalogue of a Collection of Paintings and Some Art Objects, vol. 3: German, French, Spanish and English Paintings and Art Objects, Modern Paintings (John G. Johnson Collection)
Place of Publication[Philadelphia]
Year of Publication1914
Show Literature
Auct. Cat. Paris 1890 No. 23 Fig.
EditorGalerie Georges Petit, Paris
TitleCatalogue de tableaux anciens des écoles flamande, hollandaise, francaise, espagnole, italienne et allemande formant la collection de M. Rothan, sale cat., Georges Petit, Paris, May 29-31
Place of Publication[Paris]
Year of Publication1890
Show Literature
  • Portrait of Martin Luther, 1555

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