Anton Koberger, The Blinding of Tobit, from Anton Koberger’s German Bible, 1483, Color woodcut, Gift of Mrs. William F. Stearns 1989.34

Before Luther’s translation, there were several German-language bibles produced, starting in the fourth century. The two leaves above come from Anton Koberger, German publisher and godfather of Albrecht Dürer. Koberger’s bible, published in 1483, was translated from the Vulgate into High German and included many woodcuts. Koberger’s press employed close to 100 workers at its height in the late fifteenth century; its greater effort was the monumental Nuremberg Chronicle, a monumental illustrated encyclopedia of world events.

Albrecht Dürer, The Prodigal Son Amidst the Swine, 1496, Engraving, Gift of Mrs. Toivo Laminan (Margaret Chamberlain, Class of 1929) 1968.35

Luther’s emphasis on scripture demanded a close look at the teachings of the Old and New Testaments, creating a focus on biblical stories as examples of faith. Protestant artists paid particular attention to the parables of the New Testament, which were understood as spiritual lessons issued from the authority of Christ himself. The parable of the prodigal son—whose profligate ways are forgiven by his father, who then treats him with the same love afforded to his older, responsible brother—was seen as an example of Luther’s doctrine of justification wherein individuals are forgiven of their sins and made righteous before God by virtue of their faith alone.

Martin Treu, Prodigal Son Amidst the Swine and The Return of the Prodigal Son, ca. 1540, Engraving, Bequest of Ann Kirk Warren (Ann Haggerty, Class of 1950) 2016.468-.469

Albrecht Dürer, The Last Supper, from the Small Passion, ca. 1508–09, Woodcut, Gift of William F. Stearns 1990.11

The Passion of Christ—the events surrounding his persecution and death—is central to Lutheran theology: it is understood as the sacrifice through which sinners are made righteous, and is at the core of the doctrine of justification. Many sixteenth-century artists—including Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach, and Lucas van Leyden—created print series of Passion events for private devotion, often with additional scenes meant to connect the Passion to the greater history of salvation. For example, Dürer’s so-called Small Passion—printed as a small format book—includes thirty-seven woodcuts of scenes from the Fall to the Last Judgment, accompanied by explanatory texts. In their intimate composition, the images focus on Christ’s suffering through contemplation of his body and the instruments of his Passion. In his Last Supper, Dürer features both the chalice and bread prominently at the center of the table, perhaps as a nod to the utraque specie debate, in which reformers argued for the distribution of bread and wine to all congregants, rather than just priests at the mass. Although this book pre-dates Luther’s reform, it was collected and valued long afterwards.

Albrecht Dürer, The Apocalyptic Woman and the Seven-Headed Dragon, ca. 1497, Woodcut, Bequest of Ann Kirk Warren (Ann Haggerty, Class of 1950) 2016.558

In 1498, Dürer published fifteen woodcuts as full-page illustrations to the Book of Revelation. While drawn from an earlier tradition of biblical illumination, Dürer’s woodcuts were unprecedented in their complexity and scale. The scenes follow quite faithfully the vivid visions described by Saint John, and they achieved unqualified success on the market. After the first printing of Martin Luther’s New Testament in 1522, artists attempting to illustrate the text of Revelation relied heavily on Dürer’s model.