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Primary sourcePainting

Martinus Luther Woodcut Portrait

Unbekannt (Formschneider)

A Reformation-era woodcut portrait of Martin Luther, shown with a dove above his head and his hand resting on a book.

This Reformation-era woodcut depicts Luther, showing how his image was spread in print during his lifetime.

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Woodcut portrait of Martin Luther with a dove above his head in a radiating halo, wearing a monastic robe, hands resting on a closed book. Above the image is the title Martinus Luther; below are verses and a coat of arms seal.
Unknown printmaker, Martinus Luther woodcut portrait. Herzog August Library, Germany.

About this source

What it is

This is a woodcut print portrait of Martin Luther, made by an unknown printmaker (Formschneider) during the Reformation period. It is held today by the Herzog August Library in Germany.

Why it matters

Printed portraits like this spread Luther's image widely across Europe as his ideas about reform challenged the Catholic Church. The dove above his head links him to religious authority, while the book under his hand points to his role as a writer and translator of scripture.

Look closer

  • Why might the printmaker have chosen to show Luther with a dove and a halo-like radiance?
  • What does the closed book in his hands suggest about how he wanted to be remembered?
  • Who do you think the audience for this print was, and why?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Martin Luther on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Printed 1517 broadsheet page of Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses, in black letter type with red paragraph marks and a title header at top. Dense two-column Latin text, numbered theses, and a date near the bottom.Document

Primary source

Ninety-five Theses

Martin Luther · 1517

Black and white engraving of an interior room with coffered ceiling and four framed portraits on the wall. A man in dark robes and cap plays a lute at a table while a young boy with a tankard listens. On the right, a woman and a child sit by a window and an older man reads. Two children sit on the floor reading a book, and a dog lies near the left chair.Painting

Secondary source

Domestic Life of Martin Luther at Wittenberg

Pierre-Antoine Labouchère (design); J. D. Nargeot (engraving) · 1800-1899

Scan of a printed page with a black-and-white woodcut portrait of a man with short curly hair in a monastic-style robe with a high collar, holding a book with a decorated cover. Architectural columns frame him, and the date 1520 is printed at upper right.Painting

Primary source

Woodcut Portrait of Luther in Sermon Pamphlet

1523

An open, worn leather-bound book lying on a dark background. The right page shows a woodcut title page reading 'Biblia, das ist: die gantze Heilige Schrifft Deudsch, Mart. Luth. Wittemberg' with the date MDXXXIIII. The left page has a small woodcut and handwritten notes.Book

Secondary source

Luther Bible

Martin Luther · 1534

Title page of a German Bible printed in Wittenberg in 1555, with red and black gothic lettering reading 'Die Propheten alle Deutsch, Doct. Mart. Luther, Wittenberg, Gedruckt durch Hans Lufft, 1555'. Below is a woodcut of Christ on the cross with two kneeling, praying men in robes on either side.Painting

Secondary source

Frederick the Wise and Martin Luther Kneeling before Christ on the Cross

1555

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