Loading

Difference Between the True Religion of Christ and the False Idolatrous Teaching of the Antichrist in its Principal Features / Protestantism and Catholicism.

Lucas Cranach the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Younger1546

Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

Separated by a column in the center of the image, on the left we see an appropriate religious service of the new doctrine. Martin Luther receives the words of the Trinity via a divine beam and passes them on to his congregation from the pulpit. Standing in front of all of them is the Protestant sovereign prince, who, tilting his head back, is listening intensely to the Reformer. A baptism and the giving of the Communion in both forms and to both sexes illustrate the Protestant faith and liturgy. On the other side, by contrast, greed and disorder reign. A devil is whispering nonsense into the ear of a fat preaching monk. Others are shown carrying the goods collected to the table for gifts and indulgences to the pope, who is guarding his treasures rather than participating in the service.

Show lessRead more
  • Title: Difference Between the True Religion of Christ and the False Idolatrous Teaching of the Antichrist in its Principal Features / Protestantism and Catholicism.
  • Creator: Lucas Cranach the Younger and Pancratius Kempff
  • Date Created: 1546
  • Physical Dimensions: 35.1 × 58.5 cm
  • Technique and Material: Colored woodcut
  • Provenance: Old inventory, acquired prior to 1877
  • Museum: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett
  • Inv.-No.: 707–115
  • ISIL-No.: DE-MUS-018511
  • External Link: http://www.smb.museum/museen-und-einrichtungen/kupferstichkabinett/home.html
  • Copyright: Photo © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett/ Jörg P. Anders; Text © Renaissance and Reformation: German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach, A Cooperation of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, and the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen München, Catalogue of the Exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Nov 20, 2016 – March 26, 2017, Munich: Prestel, 2016; cat. no. 33 / Michael Roth
  • Catalogue: https://prestelpublishing.randomhouse.de/book/Renaissance-and-Reformation/Stephanie-Buck/Prestel-com/e504919.rhd
  • Artist Dates: Cranach: 1515 Wittenberg–1586 Wittenberg / Kempff: active c. 1550–Magdeburg (?)
  • Artist Biography: Cranach the Younger was trained in his father’s workshop, which he ran successfully after Lucas Cranach the Elder left Wittenberg (following his employer, John Frederick of Saxony, into exile). In many cases, clear separation of their oeuvres is only possible in the late work. Like his father before him, Cranach the Younger held respected political offices in Wittenberg. Kempff probably worked as a block cutter and demonstrably as a printer of broadsheets. It cannot be determined whether the woodcuts that illustrate his broadsheets are based on his own drawings or those of other artists. Kempff was presumably active in Nuremberg and Magdeburg.
Renaissance and Reformation. German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites