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Saint Matthias, from The Martyrdom of the Apostles

A work made of woodcut in black on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of woodcut in black on ivory laid paper.

Date:

c. 1512

Artist:

Lucas Cranach the Elder
German, 1472-1553

About this artwork

Lucas Cranach designed his Martyrdom of the Twelve Apostles series in 1512. This clear and crisp impression of the impending decapitation of Saint Matthias derives from that early printing. The block was reprinted around 1548, with letterpress text on the back, to illustrate Martin Luther’s German translation of the Apostle’s Creed. Despite the series’ violent subject matter, the Protestant publisher of the c. 1548 edition dedicated the book to his daughters and referred to the images as “fine and pleasing.”

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Lucas Cranach the Elder

Title

Saint Matthias, from The Martyrdom of the Apostles

Place

Germany (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1507–1517

Medium

Woodcut in black on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Image/block/sheet: 16.2 × 12.6 cm (6 7/16 × 5 in.)

Credit Line

Clarence Buckingham Collection

Reference Number

1942.656

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/45762/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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