Martin Luther and the Wittenberg Reformers

Martin Luther and the Wittenberg Reformers

Titles

Martin Luther and the Wittenberg Reformers

[Toledo Art Museum, revised 2014]

Luther and his Friends

[LIFE magazine, June 14, 1948]

The Elector of Saxony, Luther and the Reformers

Listed as the previous title on the documentation sheet, before Luther and his Friends [Toledo Art Museum, 2014]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Toledo Art Museum, revised 2014]

In 1517 Martin Luther (1483-1546) famously nailed to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg his Ninety-five Theses arguing against the corrupt practices of Catholic Church, sparking the Protestant Reformation. Toledo's rare painting, executed some twenty-five years later, shows Luther with his fellow Reformers and the Elector of Saxony,

In 1517 Martin Luther (1483-1546) famously nailed to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg his Ninety-five Theses arguing against the corrupt practices of Catholic Church, sparking the Protestant Reformation. Toledo's rare painting, executed some twenty-five years later, shows Luther with his fellow Reformers and the Elector of Saxony, John Frederick the Magnanimous (ruled 1532-1547). The splendidly dressed John Frederick, who protected the Wittenberg reformers from the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Emperor, is the dominant figure. Behind him, at the left, is Luther; at the far right, holding a scroll and pointing upward, is Luther's chief associate, humanist scholar Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560). The man behind Luther is most often identified as Georg Spalatin (1484-1545), while the man behind John Frederick's left shoulder is probably Saxon Chancellor Gregor Brück (1485-1557). The other figures have not been satisfactorily identified.

The painting is a fragment of a larger composition, possibly the wing of a triptych. The reformers are apparently witnesses to some event to their left and above, at which many gaze. The partial, unidentified coat of arms held by the winged putto was probably that of the patron of the painting. Numbers painted on some of the figures seem to have been added early in the painting's existence and once corresponded to a list of names on the back of the panel.

Lucas Cranach the Younger worked in the studio of his father, Saxon court artist Lucas Cranach the Elder, taking over the workshop upon his father's death in 1553. Cranach the Elder painted many portraits of Martin Luther, and remained his lifelong friend. Besides the family relationship to Luther, Cranach the Younger was intimately connected to other Reformers in the painting: in 1541 he married the daughter of Gregor Brück. After being widowed in 1550, he married the niece of Phillip Melanchthon.

[http://classes.toledomuseum.org:8080/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/People$00402838/0?t:state:flow=fe148e42-73da-4659-aa47-7977bd227504] (accessed 22.03.2013)

Attributions
Lucas Cranach the Younger
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Younger

[Exhib. Cat. Gotha 2015, No. 104] [Toledo Art Museum, revised 2014]

Lucas Cranach the Elder

(or Attributed/Follower of Lucas Cranach the Elder)
Memo dated Feb. 2, 1976 from Dan Ewing suggesting the change from Lucas Cranach the Elder.
[Toledo Art Museum, revised 2014]
[Rhein 2015, 49]

Follower of Lucas Cranach the Elder

(or Lucas Cranach the Elder)
Memo dated Feb. 2, 1976 from Dan Ewing suggesting the change from Lucas Cranach the Elder.
[Toledo Art Museum, revised 2014]

Production dates
about 1543
about 1538

Production dates

about 1543

[Toledo Art Museum, revised 2014]

about 1538

[Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel 2015, 288]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 72.8 x 39.7 cm (27 5/8 x 15 5/8 in.)

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 72.8 x 39.7 cm (27 5/8 x 15 5/8 in.)

  • [Toledo Art Museum, revised 2014]

Owner
Toledo Art Museum, Toledo, Ohio
Repository
Toledo Art Museum, Toledo, Ohio
Location
Toledo
CDA ID
US_TMA_1926-55
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/US_TMA_1926-55/

Provenance

  • Cornelia, Countess of Craven, Coombe Abbey, Warwickshire, by 1854
  • (Christie's, London, Apr. 13, 1923, lot 81)
  • Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

[Toledo Art Museum, revised 2014]

Exhibitions

Manchester 1857, no. 463
Toronto, Toledo 1948, no. 9
Toledo 1937, no. 3
Manchester 1957, no. 40
Princeton 1969, no. 4
Nürnberg 1983, no. 429
Torgau 2004
Gotha/Kassel 2015, No. 104

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel 2015 288, 289 104 Pl. p. 289
EditorJulia Carrasco, Justus Lange, Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha, Benjamin D. Spira, Timo Trümper
TitleBild und Botschaft. Cranach im Dienst von Hof und Reformation, [Gotha, Herzogliches Museum; Kassel, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Schloss Wilhelmshöhe]
Place of PublicationHeidelberg
Year of Publication2015
Rhein 2015 48, 49 Fn. 46
AuthorStefan Rhein
TitleLucas Cranach der Jüngere und Philipp Melanchthon. Zu den Spuren einer Wittenberger Beziehung
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Pages42-51
Trümper 2015 23
AuthorTimo Trümper
TitleInszenierungsstrategien der Ernestiner
Publicationin Julia Carrasco, Justus Lange, Benjamin D. Spira, Timo Trümper, Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein Gotha and Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel, eds., Bild und Botschaft. Cranach im Dienst von Hof und Reformation, [Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel]
Place of PublicationHeidelberg
Year of Publication2015
Pages17-28
CDA.Bloh 2005 177
AuthorJutta Charlotte von Bloh
TitleKleidung und Waffen in den Fürstenbildnissen der Cranachs
Publicationin Harald Marx, Ingrid Mössinger, Karin Kolb, eds., Cranach, Exhib. Cat. Chemnitz 2005
Place of PublicationCologne
Year of Publication2005
Pages174-181
Exhib. Cat. Torgau 2004 20 Fig. 7, p. 24
EditorHarald Marx, Eckhard Kluth, Cecilie Hollberg
TitleGlaube und Macht. Sachsen im Europa der Reformationszeit. 2. Sächsische Landesaussellung Schloss Hartenfels Torgau
Volume1-2
Place of PublicationDresden
Year of Publication2004
Stievermann 1994 72, 73 Fig. A40
AuthorDieter Stievermann
TitleLucas Cranach und der Kursächsische Hof
Publicationin Claus Grimm, Johannes Erichsen, Evamaria Brockhoff, eds., Lucas Cranach. Ein Maler-Unternehmer aus Franken, Exhib. Cat. Kronach 1994
SeriesVeröffentlichungen zur bayerischen Geschichte und Kultur
Volume26
Place of PublicationAugsburg, Coburg
Year of Publication1994
Pages66-77
Exhib. Cat. Nuremberg 1983 324 No. 429 Fig.
EditorGerhard Bott
TitleMartin Luther und die Reformation in Deutschland. Ausstellung zum 500. Geburtstag Martin Luthers
Place of PublicationFrankfurt a. M.
Year of Publication1983
Exhib. Cat. Princeton 1969 A 004 Fig.
AuthorPrinceton University Art Museum
TitleA group of paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder, in memory of Erwin Panofsky[Art Museum of Princeton University, March 16 through April 13, 1969]
Place of PublicationPrinceton/ N.J.
Year of Publication1969
Exhib. Cat. Manchester 1957 No. 40
Authorn. a.
TitleArt Treasures Centenary Exhibition [Manchester, City Art Gallery]
Place of PublicationManchester
Year of Publication1957
Exhib. Cat. Toledo 1948 No. 9 Fig.
Authorn. a.
TitleTwo cities collect [Toronto, the Art Gallery of Toronto; Toledo, Ohio, the Toledo Museum of Art]
Place of PublicationToronto
Year of Publication1948
TMA 1937 No. 3
Authorn. a.
TitlePortraits and Portraiture Throughout the Ages
Place of PublicationToledo, Ohio
Year of Publication1937
Exhib. Cat. Manchester 1857 42 No. 463
AuthorGeorge Scharf
TitleCatalogue of the Art Treasures of the United Kingdom
Place of PublicationLondon
Year of Publication1857

Research History / Discussion

Two 17th century copies of the painting in British collections show the same composition, suggesting that the panel was cropped at an early stage.[1]

[1] Only the coat-of-arms was omitted in the copies. After Lucas Cranach 'Elector Johann Friedrich of Saxony and the Reformers', oil on canvas, 142 x 134 cm, about 1640, Plymouth City Council, Museum and Art Gallery, Inv. No. PLYMG.2011.7. After Lucas Cranach, 'Elector Johann Friedrich of Saxony and the Reformers', oil on canvas, 66 x 41 cm , City of London Corporation, Inv. No. 162.

[Exhib. Cat. Gotha, Kassel 2015, 288]

  • Martin Luther and the Wittenberg Reformers, about 1543

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