How German Artists Read the Bible: Lucas Cranach and Hans Holbein
On March 15, the Pokrovskie Vorota Cultural Center hosted Natalia Borovskaya's sixth lecture in the "Artist Reads the Bible" series. Lucas Cranach the Elder and Hans Holbein the Younger are painters who shaped Lutheran artistic spirituality and the Lutheran approach to reading Scripture through art.
Full course: • Художник читает Библию
When discussing these remarkable artists, one cannot help but consider the fascinating issue of the interplay between their spiritual views, which led them to Protestantism, and their education and professional training in the Catholic tradition. They came to Lutheranism as established, mature artists, and during the period of theological and military conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Germany, they maintained all their "old" ties with Catholic patrons, effectively working for both churches and creating their own spiritual space in art, beyond the reach of inter-church battles.
This discussion will focus on the unique approach of Cranach and Holbein to the main themes and stories of the Gospels and the artistic language they created, which, in essence, proved understandable to members of any Church without translation.
Natalia Borovskaya is a PhD candidate in art history and professor in the Department of General History at the I. Glazunov Academy of Fine Arts.
Since the emergence of Christianity, biblical stories have become the subject of reflection and creativity. The artist's personal dialogue with the text of the Bible itself and its understanding by church tradition has become the sphere of his personal dialogue. The lecture series "An Artist Reads the Bible" will highlight works by major masters of the Italian Renaissance, Rembrandt's biblical paintings, and 19th-century Russian artists such as Alexander Ivanov, Nikolai Ge, and Vasily Polenov.
00:00 Unbroken Ties with the Catholic World
16:20 Lucas Cranach. Iconography of the Crucifixion
49:27 Iconography of the Virgin Mary
01:02:55 Adam and Eve
01:15:57 Hans Holbein the Younger. The Dead Christ in the Tomb
Website – https://pokrovka27.com/
Telegram – https://t.me/pokrovka27
VKontakte – https://vk.com/dbiblio
Bookstore: https://primusversus.com