The Bible in Pictures – Book Review
Martin Luther's Bible – 117 Illustrations Painted by Lucas Cranach
Aug 17, 2009
The Bible in Pictures is published by Taschen GmbH. The publication features 117 vividly coloured images originally commissioned from the workshop of Lucas Cranach for Martin Luther's German-language Bible published in 1534 together with a detailed discussion by Stephan Fussel.
Martin Luther's Bible – Discussed by Stephan Fussel
The publication is divided into two sections.
The Book of Books by Stephan Fussel
In a chapter entitled The Book of Books, Stephan Fussel provides an overview of the following themes related to Martin Luther's Bible of 1534:
- Martin Luther's life and work – Luther as a reformer (Martin Luther: 1483-1546),
- German-language Bibles existing before Luther's Bible
- Bibles in European vernacular languages,
- Luther's translation and the rules he used when making that translation,
- how Luther's powerful language was received, not just at the time of publication, but throughout history,
- the history of printed bibles, and,
- the history of theology and thought.
There had already been eighteen earlier German-language Bibles before Luther's but his was the first complete German Bible. Its appearance proved to be a key point in the history of Christianity.
Martin Luther's Bible differed from those that had gone before. With its modern interpretation and vernacular language, Luther's Bible was intended for, and accessible to laypeople. He caused a storm of anger toward Rome and the Papacy. The Bible's vibrant illustrations, graphically explicit and rich in political innuendo, caused a religious revolution and eventually led to the founding of a new religion: Protestantism. In Cranach's illustrations The Four Hosemen of the Apocalypse were led by a Turkish solder and the Whore of Babylon wore the Papal crown and rode an animal with seven heads.
Woodcut Illustrations from the Workshop of Lucas Cranach
The second part of the book contains illustrations and initials from Martin Luther's Bible. He commissioned the workshop of Lucas Cranach (c. 1472-1553) to provide 117 hand-coloured woodcut images. These have now been meticulously reproduced from an original, very luxurious copy, owned by the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek in Weimar. Stephan Fussel has provided a detailed description of each image and its iconography. This section is sub-divided into sections:
- The Old Testament – Pentateuch
- The second part of the Old Testament
- The third part of the Old Testament
- The Prophets
- The New Testament
- The Revelation
The volume concludes with a detailed Bibliography, a list of the German Bibles existing before Luther, and a list of the abbreviations used in the publication.
Stephan Fussel – About the Author
Stephan Fussel, director of the Institute of the History of the Book, and holder of the Gutenberg Chair, at Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, is author of many books on the history of printing including:
- The Most Beautiful Bibles,
- Gutenberg and the Impact of Printing, and,
- Martin Luther, the Illustrated Bible (available from Taschen from 1st October 2009.
The Bible in Pictures is written in plain English and accessible both to scholars and to lovers of beautiful bibles. The publication is available in four separate editions: English, Spanish, French and German. Published by Taschen Books it is available in hardback, priced at £24.99, ISBN: 978-3-8365-1814-7, 200 pages, 23.6 x 34.2 cm/9.3 x 13.5 in.
 |
 |
 |
