CRANACH, Lucas the Elder
(b. 1472, Kronach, d. 1553, Weimar)

Portrait Diptych of Martin Luther and his Wife Katharina von Bora

1529
Oil and tempera on red beechwood, 38 x 24 cm (each)
Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt

In 1525 Martin Luther, the apostate Augustinian monk, married Katharina von Bora, a former nun. He was thoroughly aware of the political consequences of this step. Shortly afterwards an aggressive pictorial propaganda campaign was launched that clearly set out to proclaim the event. Pairs of portraits and diptychs of the newly married couple were published in large numbers.