Most beautiful picture of Luther: F. W. Wehle; Greatest Christmas gift (Part 1 of 3)

      A flood of thoughts came to mind when I ran across a short article, in the July 1, 1882 Der Lutheraner, p. 104 [EN] by C. F. W. Walther, with the above title.  The article was in an extremely small font and, after translating the entire article, I believe Walther insisted that the typesetter squeeze a large article into the few remaining column-inches available in that issue of the Der Lutheraner.  

Great Christmas gift, up to 22x28 poster
(full size JPG download here)

As I began to translate it, I wondered what picture of Luther was being introduced by Walther.  I wondered “Could it be the image that was used in Pastor Hermann Fick's masterful book entitled Das Lutherbuch?  So a quick Google search of the painter's name and "Luther" turned up the treasure that I would have paid for, but found it for free at the Library of Congress site. Full size JPEG download >> HERE << (8MB, 6941x8569; "No known restrictions on publication".) There is a very pleasant aspect of the Library of Congress free high-resolution image — it is not copyrighted by anyone like Getty Images or some other organization.  It is free to download and print to as large as 22 in. x 28 in. (CPH should be selling these.)  That makes it suitable for about any church setting.  Walther thinks so too. — Before I get to Walther's writing, I would make a suggestion for anyone wanting a gift idea for a Lutheran.  I cannot think of a greater idea than a full size print made from the large JPEG file download above.  At 300 DPI, it will print a poster 22" x 28", the original lithograph size.  Of course it could be printed in a smaller size. For example, a 20" x 30" Lustre digital print at Target Stores is $30.

      Now Walther "hastens" to bring us his exuberant announcement in the 1882 Der Lutheraner, vol. 38, p. 104 [EN]:

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 The most beautiful Luther picture

[by C.F.W. Walther]

we have ever seen reached us a few days ago. We therefore hasten to inform our dear readers herewith most dutifully. —

It is true that Luther's face has such peculiar features that probably few faces are so easy to capture as Luther's, so that everyone, after having seen some Luther pictures, at the sight of any one, however botched, immediately notices: This is Luther or this is supposed to be Luther. Consequently, many people are satisfied with any Luther picture; if they only find certain basic features of Luther's face in it, and now underneath it is written: “After Lucas Cranach”, then they think they have an absolutely faithful image of the great man, even though the portrait often contains partly quite alien features, partly lacks just those features that represent the true Luther, as he lived.  

Classic Cranach portrait

Many also think that it is quite futile to argue about which Luther image is the most accurate. After all, there is no one alive who has seen Luther face to face. Who could therefore say which image of Luther was the most faithful? But one is mistaken. For not only do we still have today pictures of Luther, which were made during his lifetime, among which, as is well known, [Lucas] Cranach's are indisputably the best; for the great painter Cranach was not only Luther's contemporary, but also his co-religionist and intimate friend; we also have exact descriptions of Luther's outward appearance by contemporaries of his, according to which even the best pictures from the time of Luther's life are capable of perfection.

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There is much more to come on why this picture became the frontispiece of two major publications from the Old German Missouri Synod.  In the next Part 2…