Item Information

Das Newe Testament deutzsch; Woodcut from Apocalypse from title page verso

German New Testament

The third Wittenberg folio edition of Luther's translation. Woodcut illustrations of the Apocalypse of St. John, from the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder, depict the defeat of the satanic dragon at the conclusion of that visionary work. The Apocalypse was a favored subject of artists. In Luther’s day, speculation about the end of days and a vivid sense of the "porous" nature of the cosmos – its openness to otherworldly powers of good and evil – were commonplace. Luther himself spoke often of the Devil, sometimes mockingly, as a regular player in the drama of his daily life and struggles.

Bible. New Testament. German. Luther. 1524

Lemberger, Georg, 1495?-1540?

Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553

Luther, Martin, 1483-1546

publisher not identified

[1524]

No Copyright - United States

German

Still Image

4549104

1524

Wittemberg

books

prints

ccxv numb. : illustrations ; 30 cm (folio)

Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University

Union Rare Folio

CB77 1524

original filename:1900200011

Colophon: Gedruckt zu wittemberg Melchior vnd Michel Lotther gebruder M.D.XXIIII

Title within ornamental border by Georg Lemberger; the 21 woodcut illustrations (all in the Revelation of St. John) are ascribed to the workshop of Lucas Cranach the elder, perhaps after rough sketches by Cranach himself. Cf. the description in Luther's Werke (Kritische Gesamtausgabe), Die deutsche Bibel, 2. Bd., p.[266], no. *7, & p.203

The 3d Wittenberg folio edition of Luther's translation

verso, illustration

reformatted digital