Martin Luther and the Wittenberg Reformers

Martin Luther (1483-1546), the Catholic Church reformer who sparked the Protestant Reformation in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517, is shown here on the left, behind the splendidly dressed figure of John Frederick the Magnanimous of Saxony. John Frederick (ruled 1532-1547) supported and protected Luther and his fellow reformers from the Church and the Holy Roman Emperor. The painting is a fragment of a larger composition. The reformers are witness to some event to their left and above, at which many gaze or point. The numbers painted on some of the figures seem to have been added early in the painting’s existence. They once corresponded to a list of names on the back of the panel, identifying key reformers for posterity, such as number 4, theologian and scholar Philipp Melancthon.

The artist is the son of Lucas Cranach the Elder (see his painting Saints Catherine, Margaret, and Barbara in Gallery 19). Saxon court artist Cranach the Elder remained a lifelong friend of Martin Luther, painting his portrait many times. Cranach the Younger, successful in his own right, took over his father’s workshop in 1553.