- 497
Studio of Lucas Cranach the Elder Kronach 1472 - 1553 Weimar
Description
- Lucas, the elder Cranach
- a portrait of martin luther (1483-1546)
- signed with the artist’s device and dated upper right in gold: 1532. and inscribed along the top in gold: .IN SILENTIO ET SPE. ERIT FORTITVDO VESTRA.
- oil on panel
- 19 by 15.3cm
Provenance
Lost during the Second World War;
Recovered and placed in the care of the Stichting Nederlands Kunstbezit, inv. no. 1230;
Restituted to the Philips family.
Catalogue Note
This portrait of the German theologian Martin Luther (1483-1546) is based on the original version which Lucas Cranach the Younger painted in 1532.[1] Most likely as means of religious propaganda, various examples of this composition were painted in Cranach’s studio, often with minor differences. The present painting shows a device, originated from Isaiah 30, 15; ‘...in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength...’.
This portrait was combined with the Portrait of Philipp Schwartzerd, known as Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560). As a German professor and theologian, he was a key leader of the Lutheran Reformation, and a close friend and associate of Martin Luther.
According to family tradition, representatives of Reichsmarshall Herman Göring tried to obtain both portraits during the German occupation of The Netherlands. As the family did not want to sell, the occupier eventually took both paintings from the family estate. As still attached to the reverse of the painting, Mrs. S. Philips-van Lennep had her secretary type out a Lutheran hymn in German, titled A mighty Fortress is our God. This hymn promises the defeat of evil forces and the gaining of God’s Kingdom by those who remain steadfast in their faith.
[1]Dresden Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, inv. no. 1918.