Cranach’s Eve: An Exegetical Examination of the Representation of Eve in the Sixteenth Century ‘Luther Bible’

Eleanor Huges
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2016
BA

Subject: Paining, Manuscripts, Books and Prints
Country: Germany
Century: 16th Century

10,000 words

The thesis will argue that the ‘Creation’ page in the so-called ‘Luther Bible’ of 1534, illustrated by Lucas Cranach the Elder’s workshop, supports a more egalitarian reading of Eve’s nature in Genesis in comparison to its predecessors. Feminist biblical scholars often overlook printed illustrated when considering this. It is proposed here that Cranach’s workshop chiaroscuro woodcuts offer a more profane representation of Adam and Eve in comparison to Cranach’s courtly nudes. These profane nudes arguably support Luther’s theological agenda for releasing the ‘Word of God’ and for a wide use of the vernacular translation of the Bible. Moreover, the 1534 ‘Creation’ page is a vehicle for this Reformer’s interpretation of Genesis 1-3, challenging traditional visual exegesis of Eve especially.

Irish Georgian Society

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Cranach’s Eve: An Exegetical Examination of the Representation of Eve in the Sixteenth Century ‘Luther Bible’