Western Civilization I Part 6: The Renaissance and Reformation The Church and Its Reformers

Pope Leo X (ruled 1513-1521). Portrait by Raphael, 1518-1519 Pope Leo X (ruled 1513-1521). Portrait by Raphael, 1518-1519. Uffizi Gallery, Florence (Wikipedia) Albert of Brandenburg (1490-1545). Portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1526. Hermitage, St Petersburg. (Wikipedia) Luther with Doctor’s Cap, Portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1521. Coburg, Kunstsammlung der Veste Coburg.

In this woodcut, Lucas Cranach seeks to illustrate the fundamental differences between the church of Rome and the evangelical teaching of Luther and his followers. Like many other such broadsheets, the argument is conveyed through visual parallelism and contrast. The panel on the depicts the world of reformed preaching, the right-hand panel its Catholic counterpart. A scroll of text unfolds from God the Father through the other personae of the Trinity straight to Luther; it reads "There is only one mediator. I am the way. Behold, this is the Lamb of God." Jesus, in prayer, says to God: "Father, I sanctify you, I sanctify and sacrifice myself for you." On Luther's pulpit are inscribed the words "All the prophets witness to this one--that there is no other  name under heaven [by which we can be saved], Acts 4:10." In the foreground is Luther's protector, John of Saxony, holding a cross on his shoulder. The space appears to be interior, and is lacks decoration. Luther's audience consists of ordinary lay people. To the left, a man and woman receive communion in both kinds, bread and wine.Luther's counterpart in the right-hand panel is an unidentified priest preaching to a gathering of churchmen--bishops, cardinals, monks, doctors of theology. The candle bearing cleric has a hood with two ears and bells at each tip, like a fool's cap; another has hidden playing cards in his hood, which spill out as he raises his head to hear the sermon. A demon is blowing air into the preacher's ear, prompting him to say "Behold, before you lie many Roman Catholic, not heretical, paths to salvation; you can come easily to glory." A pilgrimage is visible in the background; a mass is celebrated to the right, but no one is hearing it. In the right foreground, the pope sells indulgences, holding a sign that reads "When a coins drops, a soul flies to heaven." From heaven, God and Saint Francis observe the scene in dismay (commentary adapted from Steven Ozment, The Age of Reform, 1250-1550: An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1980], 214-215). The Difference between the True Religion of Christ and the False Idolatrous Teaching of the Antichrist. Lucas Cranach the Younger. Woodcut, 1547. (Wikipedia)

Uffizi Gallery, Florence. (Wikipedia) Portrait of Cesarea possibly a copy of an original contemporary portrait painting of Bartolomeo Veneto Pope Alexander VI (ruled 1492-1503). Portrait by Cristofano dell'Altissimo Uffizi Gallery, Florence. (Wikipedia) Cesare Borgia (1475/6-1507). Portrait possibly by Bartolomeo Veneto, ca. 1500–10. Palazzo Venezia, Rome. (Wikipedia)

Martin Luther (1483-1546). Portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1528 Martin Luther (1483-1546). Portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1528. Kunstsammlung der Veste Coburg, Coburg. (Wikipedia) Desiderius Erasmus (1466 -1536). Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1523. National Gallery, London. (Wikipedia)

In this woodcut, Lucas Cranach seeks to illustrate the fundamental differences between the church of Rome and the evangelical teaching of Luther and his followers. Like many other such broadsheets, the argument is conveyed through visual parallelism and contrast. The panel on the depicts the world of reformed preaching, the right-hand panel its Catholic counterpart. A scroll of text unfolds from God the Father through the other personae of the Trinity straight to Luther; it reads "There is only one mediator. I am the way. Behold, this is the Lamb of God." Jesus, in prayer, says to God: "Father, I sanctify you, I sanctify and sacrifice myself for you." On Luther's pulpit are inscribed the words "All the prophets witness to this one--that there is no other  name under heaven [by which we can be saved], Acts 4:10." In the foreground is Luther's protector, John of Saxony, holding a cross on his shoulder. The space appears to be interior, and is lacks decoration. Luther's audience consists of ordinary lay people. To the left, a man and woman receive communion in both kinds, bread and wine.Luther's counterpart in the right-hand panel is an unidentified priest preaching to a gathering of churchmen--bishops, cardinals, monks, doctors of theology. The candle bearing cleric has a hood with two ears and bells at each tip, like a fool's cap; another has hidden playing cards in his hood, which spill out as he raises his head to hear the sermon. A demon is blowing air into the preacher's ear, prompting him to say "Behold, before you lie many Roman Catholic, not heretical, paths to salvation; you can come easily to glory." A pilgrimage is visible in the background; a mass is celebrated to the right, but no one is hearing it. In the right foreground, the pope sells indulgences, holding a sign that reads "When a coins drops, a soul flies to heaven." From heaven, God and Saint Francis observe the scene in dismay (commentary adapted from Steven Ozment, The Age of Reform, 1250-1550: An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1980], 214-215). The Difference between the True Religion of Christ and the False Idolatrous Teaching of the Antichrist. Lucas Cranach the Younger. Woodcut, 1547. (Wikipedia)

Martin Luther (1483-1546). Portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1528 Martin Luther (1483-1546). Portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1528. Kunstsammlung der Veste Coburg, Coburg. (Wikipedia) Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527). Portrait by Santi di Tito, late XVI. Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. (Wikipedia)

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Vitruvian Man, ca 1492 Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Vitruvian Man, ca 1492. Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice. (Wikipedia)