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Cut from Luther as Hercules Germanicus, by Hans Holbein the Younger
Summary
Luther as Hercules Germanicus. Woodcut, Zentralbibliothek, Zürich.
Basel, where Hans Holbein worked and had his studio, was a leading centre for disseminating Reformation ideas, owing to the excellence and freedom of its presses. Most of the reformer Martin Luther's books were published there. At the time Holbein designed this print, he was working for both traditional patrons and for reformers. Comparing Luther to Hercules, the slayer of the many-headed hydra, he shows him slaying churchmen.
Date
1400 - 1700
Source
Christian Müller; Stephan Kemperdick; Maryan Ainsworth; et al, Hans Holbein the Younger: The Basel Years, 1515–1532, Munich: Prestel, 2006, ISBN 9783791335803, p. 126.
Copyright info
public domain
