Law and Gospel in Paint - Part 2

This post is a part of a series:

LAW AND GOSPEL IN PAINT - PART 1 (Gotha Panel)
LAW AND GOSPEL IN PAINT - PART 2 (Gotha Panel)
LAW AND GOSPEL IN PAINT - PART 3 (Prague Panel)
LAW AND GOSPEL IN PAINT - PART 4 (Prague Panel)
LAW AND GOSPEL IN PAINT - PART 5 (The Dying Man)
LAW AND GOSPEL IN PAINT - PART 6 (Continuation of the Theme)

Presentation on Cranach's Law and Gospel Painting (Theological Symposium, Concordia Seminary St. Louis, 2022)

The Gotha Panel

In a previous post, I gave an introduction to Cranach's 1529 Law and Gospel Painting located in Gotha, Germany. In this post, I would like to dive into some more of the meaning of the painting. Specifically, I will show how the two sides of the painting are both distinguished from each other and work together. In this painting, Cranach has attempted to teach visually how God's Word of Law and Gospel work to lead people to repentance and faith in Christ.

A Very Brief Introduction to the Terms "Law and Gospel"

As the name suggests, this painting is related closely to the distinction between Law and Gospel. Simply put in Lutheran terms, both Law and Gospel are the Word of the God. While God speaks them both, they also differ from one another and require distinction (but not separation). The Law is composed of God's standards and requirements for humanity. As such the Law may be divided into three different uses: (1) Curb - This use is for the sake of curtailing gross acts of sin and ordering society in a peaceful manner; (2) Mirror - This use is sometimes referred to as the theological use that reveals to people that they are sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God; and (3) Guide - This use states that the Law also applies to Christians as a guide for how God desires them to live. The Gospel is the good news that proclaims what God has done for humanity, specifically in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The Gospel is only received in faith by the working of the Holy Spirit. While Law and Gospel are different from one another, they are not opposed to each other. They both share the same ultimate goal, which is leading to Jesus. As such, the Law shows humanity that it needs a savior by revealing sin. The Gospel shows who the Savior is: Christ, the fulfillment of the Law. Christ, though without sin, took the judgment and wrath of God upon Himself so that all who are in Him do not receive judgment but rather salvation. The Gospel is completely free and based only on the free grace of God. So, both Law and Gospel, though distinct, are needed to bring people to repentance and faith.

Cranach's Visualization of Law and Gospel

Cranach's depiction of Law and Gospel brings the two together into one painting while at the same time distinguishing between the two. The contrast between the Law and Gospel scenes is pretty clear. Cranach's painting shows that the distinction between Law and Gospel is not a distinction between the Old and New Testament. One scholar has noted well that the texts along the bottom are all from the New Testament. In addition, the scene of the Israelites in the desert is a scene that gets placed on both sides of the painting in later versions (see some examples here, here, and here). Both Law and Gospel are present in this scene. Both in the judgment of the fiery serpents and the healing through gaze upon the bronze serpent. As Jesus says in John 3, the serpent lifted up points forward to His death on the cross, which brings eternal healing through forgiveness.

Distinction Between Law and Gospel in the Painting

We are drawn immediately to the man who is running from two ghastly figures of the devil and death. As I noted in the first post, the skeleton death holds a spear that is the "sting" of death mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15 text below the image. The devil is depicted as death's buddy with his arm around him and a devilish grin. And he carries with him in his hellish belly the vices of sin that bring about death. To the right, Moses stands with other prophets pointing to the tablets of the decalogue, revealing to the man that he is in fact a sinner who has not kept the Law, just as Adam and Eve commit the first sin in the garden in the distance. On the side of the Law, not even Christ seated in judgment is of help to him, as he points to the sword. The man cannot look to anything on the side of the Law for comfort. It only reveals to him that he has not kept the Law and deserves the fate of being chased into the flames. The whole left side is completely ramped up to make it clear that humanity is helpless before God's standards.

Yet on the Gospel side, the whole scene is completely different. The man does not run but stands calmly with his hands folded and his gaze fixed upon Christ on the cross. Upon him pours the sprinkling of Christ's blood that purifies him and delivers the Holy Spirit as a dove. Everything supports the peace of the man who rests in Christ's work for him. The heavens break open in the distance as the angel announces the birth of Christ to the shepherds. John the Baptist points this man to Christ. Below Christ's cross, the Lamb stands victorious over sin and death. Death no longer has its "spear/sting" as the taunt of 1 Corinthians 15 exclaims below. "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," noted by John the Baptist's words in John 1:29, trounces upon the foes before an empty tomb proclaiming that Christ has risen from the dead. And above, the Risen Christ gives the sign of blessing as He ascends into Heaven with the standard of victory.

Law and Gospel Working Together in the Painting

The distinction is pretty stark. This has led some scholars to declare this to be a complete dichotomy of Law and Gospel. Some scholars have even called it antinomian (anti-law). But to do so neglects the components of the painting that tie Law and Gospel together. As one scholar alludes, both are together in one painting. Below are a few compositional components that lead one to see that Law and Gospel are working together in the painting:

The Tree

The same tree in the center of the painting is a part of both the Law (desiccated limbs) and Gospel (abundant foliage).

Moses and the Prophets

The positioning of Moses right next to the tree is important. This positioning suggests that while he is still on the side of the Law and that the works of the Law do not save, the ultimate purpose of the Law is to reveal sin so as to reveal the need of the Savior Christ.

The Spear and the Blood

Friedrich Ohly has noted that the position and angle of the spear on the Law side and the stream of blood on Gospel side parallel each other and make for a contrast. Being tied together there could be a further note that the spear that pierced Christ's side has brought about the flow of blood that purifies the man. Christ has taken the sting of death in the place of humanity and through this sacrifice, He has brought salvation.

The Man on the Law Side

The image of the man is frantic with both arms raised in the air as he is being chased toward the flames. This has led some scholars to understand this running man as someone who is condemned and lost. However, when you follow the eyes of the man, he is not looking at death and the devil. Nor is he looking at the tablets of the decalogue. Nor is he looking at Christ seated in judgment (Note that in some later renditions of the theme the man is looking at these other elements). He looks across the scene to the resurrected and ascending Christ on the Gospel side! There Christ is giving the sign of blessing. It is my suggestion that this man is actually calling out to Christ in his moment of despair. Other versions of the Law and Gospel theme actually makes this much more clear. In a title page woodcut template (here and here) there is only one man in the whole composition and he is on the Law side. He is looking back across the whole composition. This is all the clearer in the Weimar Altarpiece where the running man in the distance looks up to Christ on the cross. Perhaps this man's lifted arms are much closer to the orans (praying) position. He is calling out for mercy that can only be found in Christ.

John the Baptist's Pointing Finger

The whole painting is best framed by John the Baptist's pointing finger. It is meant to engage the viewer and point him or her to Christ on the cross. Every element that I have mentioned thus far points to consolation, forgiveness, and life that are found only in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Like looking upon the serpent lifted up in the wilderness brought healing to the Israelites, so for the viewer of this painting, the message is emphasized that the one who looks upon Christ in faith will be saved. This is confirmed when you look at the eyes of Christ crucified and Christ resurrected on the Gospel side. Christ is looking directly at the viewer so as to proclaim, "This is for you. Look nowhere else for salvation than my cross and resurrection."









A Few Sources:

Christensen, Carl C. Art and the Reformation in Germany. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1979. 

Cranach, Law and Gospel (Gotha), http://lucascranach.org/DE_SMG_SG676

Dillenberger, John. Images and Relics: Theological Perceptions and Visual Images in Sixteenth-Century Europe. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Noble, Bonnie. Lucas Cranach the Elder: Art and Devotion of the German Reformation. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2009. 

Weimer, Christoph. “Luther and Cranach on Justification in Word and Image.” Lutheran Quarterly 18 (2004): 387-405.

Foreign Language:

Bach-Nielsen, Carsten. “Cranach, Luther und servum arbitrium.” Analecta Romana Instituti Danici 19 (1990): 145-84.

Fleck, Miriam Verena. Ein tröstlich gemelde: Die Glaubensallegorie “Gesetz und Gnade” in Europa zwischen Spätmittelalter und Frühes Neuzeit. Korb: Didymos-Verlag, 2010.

Ohly, Friedrich. Gesetz und Evangelium Zur Typologie bei Luther und Lucas Cranach zum Blutstrahl der Gnade in der Kunst. Munich: Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung GmBH and Co., 1985.

Thulin, Oskar. Cranach-Altäre der Reformation. Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsantalt, 1955.