Saint Matthias, from The Martyrdom of the Apostles
c. 1512
Medium
Woodcut in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/block/sheet: 16.2 × 12.6 cm (6 7/16 × 5 in.)
Classification
woodcut
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
45762
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Lucas Cranach designed his Martyrdom of the Twelve Apostles series in 1512. This clear and crisp impression of the impending decapitation of Saint Matthias derives from that early printing. The block was reprinted around 1548, with letterpress text on the back, to illustrate Martin Luther’s German translation of the Apostle’s Creed. Despite the series’ violent subject matter, the Protestant publisher of the c. 1548 edition dedicated the book to his daughters and referred to the images as “fine a...
About the Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder · 1472–1553
Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472-1553) was one of the most prominent German Renaissance painters and a key artistic figure of the Protestant Reformation. Born in Kronach, Franconia, to the painter Hans Maler, Cranach began his career in Vienna around 1502, where he became one of the founders of the Danube School, a movement characterized by expressive landscape painting and emotional force. His ea...