3-069-604 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Portrait of Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560), 16th century. Additional Info: The portrait is an image of Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560)-a theologian, teacher and (from 1518) a lecturer in the Greek language at the University of Wittenberg. He was a humanist that admired Erasmus of Rotterdam and a reformer of the education system. In 1519, he became a supporter of Luther. He was the co-author of the doctrine of Lutheranism as the author of the catechism and the lecture on the main principles of the new faith, presented at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. The portrayed man is shown against a light green background, on which a winged snake (the sign of the Cranach's studio) and the date 1561 can be seen on the left. He is presented in a half-length format against a grey-green background and dressed in a black coat with a furry collar, a red caftan and a white shirt with an open frill collar.