Lot number 3521 - Auction 155
ALLEGORIE DER EVANGELISCHEN WAHRHEIT (REFORMATIONSTAFEL)

GERMAN OR CENTRAL GERMAN SCHOOL OF THE 17TH CENTURY ALLEGORY OF EVANGELICAL TRUTH (REFORMATION PANEL) Oil on wood panel. 36 x 23 cm (R. 50 x 37 cm). Verso: comprehensive inscription with origin and interpretation as well as explanation of the inscription on the picture. The small-format panel shows an allegorical representation of the Lutheran Reformation, which was created on the occasion of a Reformation anniversary. In the centre is the cross of Christ, surmounted by the dove of the Holy Spirit, as an expression of the Reformation principle of solus Christus. On either side of an altar appear leading figures of the Reformation, Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon on the left, with Melanchthon pointing to the open book bearing the inscription VERBUM DOMINI MANET IN AETERNUM. The figures on the right represent ecclesiastical and secular order in the sense of the Lutheran doctrine of the two kingdoms. The altar, inscribed with German and Latin texts, and the accompanying emblems underline the didactic character of the depiction. The painting serves less to express artistic individuality than to clearly convey Reformation content. Partially preserved frame. Provenance: Private collection, Rhineland.