Bidspirit auction | After Cranach the Elder, Martin

After Cranach the Elder, Martin Luther, Oil/Panel - 17.5x 22.5. This oil on wood panel portrait depicts the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther, rendered in a manner after the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder. The subject is portrayed bust-length in three-quarter profile, wearing traditional dark clerical attire with a high collar against a muted, monochromatic background. A significant portion of the lower panel is occupied by an extensive biographical inscription in German Fraktur script, detailing the major milestones of Luther's life from his birth in 1483 to his death in 1546. To the right of the sitter's shoulder is a date and mark transcribed as 1543 flanking a winged serpent, the characteristic symbol of the Cranach workshop. The painting is executed on a two-piece wooden panel with a visible vertical join. The work is presented in a carved and gilded wood frame decorated with floral and foliate patterns.