Luther and Melanchthon - portraits from the Cranach workshop in the visitor reception of the castle church - Sunday lecture on the occasion of the handover
In 2022 and 2023, the Wittenberg Sunday Lectures will be dedicated to the topic of new beginnings. Lectures will be held at random this year and next.
On the occasion of the new public presentation of the portraits of the reformers Martin Luther and Phillip Melanchthon in the visitor reception of the Castle Church, the Evangelical Preachers' Seminary invites you to a Sunday lecture.
The second lecture entitled “Authentic Reproductions? A fact check on portrait painting in the Cranach workshop" takes over Prof. Dr. Gunnar Heydenreich from the Cologne Institute for Restoration and Conservation Science.
As a connoisseur of the Cranach portraits, Prof. Heydenreich introduces Cranach's painting technique and the production methods of his workshop. What comes from the master himself? What did journeymen carry out on Cranach's behalf or in free design? What did Cranach intend to do with the portrait paintings? Did he want to create authentic reproductions of the contemporaries depicted, or rather to vividly shape an image of the respective person?
With the focus on the portraits of the Cranach workshop, Prof. Heydenreich takes up a central theme of the Wittenberg Reformation. He examines Cranach's contribution to the illustration of basic ideas of the Reformation, in particular to the dissemination of the portraits of their leading figures. The Union of Evangelical Churches leaves two valuable portraits to the Evangelical Preachers' Seminary in Wittenberg. The paintings of the reformers Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon come from the workshop of Lucas Cranach.
The second Sunday lecture will take place on October 2nd at 11:30 a.m. in the auditorium of the Evangelical Preacher Seminary on the top floor of the castle. Access is via the visitor center in the Castle Church.
Cordial invitation!