72.1.132
Calvin
Ink
Engraving
Prints
16.5 in W
x
21.5 in H
(Paper)
German
Copper engraving by F. Müller (either Friedrich / Heinrich Friedrich Müller or Carl Friedrich Johann von Müller), allegedly after Holbein.
Friedrich Müller was a German engraver who worked at the publishers F.W.Gubitz from 1836 to 1844.
Friedrich Müller was a German engraver who worked at the publishers F.W.Gubitz from 1836 to 1844.
Johann Friedrich Wilhelm von Müller was a German engraver who was only able to produce 18 pieces during his lifetime. Son and pupil of Johann Gotthard von Müller, he devoted most of his career to engraving Madonna di San Sisto by Raphael in Dresden, but died before the first prints of this work were received.
The first work was created after artist Hans Holbein's painting of John Calvin, founder of the Protestant theology Calvinism, which was known for its doctrine of predestination and the total dependence of man's salvation upon God's sovereignty. The second print depicts Müller's engraving after the original painting by Lucas Cranach. Martin Luther was an important religious figure during the Protestant Reformation and is also known for his translation of the Bible into the vernacular, contributing to wider accessibility. The inscription below the portrait translates as Luther's famous quotation: "Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God! Amen." In both of these works, the figure's dress and the presence of books are indicative of his occupation as a theologian and scholar. In Dr. Martin Luther, the direction of the figure's eyes seem as if they are looking up into heaven, further emphasizing his role as a pious figure in Christianity.
Since both Holbein and Cranach lived and worked over two centuries prior to Müller, how the engraver inter-preted the representation of these famous theologians brings into question the sitter-artist relationship present in portraiture. Did Müller mean to just copy the original works, or did he render his own portrayal of these figures' identities?
-from exhibition label for Face Value (fall 2012)
The first work was created after artist Hans Holbein's painting of John Calvin, founder of the Protestant theology Calvinism, which was known for its doctrine of predestination and the total dependence of man's salvation upon God's sovereignty. The second print depicts Müller's engraving after the original painting by Lucas Cranach. Martin Luther was an important religious figure during the Protestant Reformation and is also known for his translation of the Bible into the vernacular, contributing to wider accessibility. The inscription below the portrait translates as Luther's famous quotation: "Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God! Amen." In both of these works, the figure's dress and the presence of books are indicative of his occupation as a theologian and scholar. In Dr. Martin Luther, the direction of the figure's eyes seem as if they are looking up into heaven, further emphasizing his role as a pious figure in Christianity.
Since both Holbein and Cranach lived and worked over two centuries prior to Müller, how the engraver inter-preted the representation of these famous theologians brings into question the sitter-artist relationship present in portraiture. Did Müller mean to just copy the original works, or did he render his own portrayal of these figures' identities?
-from exhibition label for Face Value (fall 2012)
In Collection
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