1529 Cranach Allegorie auf Gesetz und Gnade anagoria

Allegory of Law and Grace. Painting on beech, later sawn into two panels. This Lutheran allegory teaches how the salvation of mankind is attained through the grace of God. On the left Death and the Devil drive the sinner into Hell. The law of the 10 Commandments cannot help him at the Last Judgment. The tree has withered. By contrast, on the right, John the Baptist points to Christ, who has died for mankind. The Resurrection and the leafy crown of the tree signify life, which the grace of God bestows on the faithful. This depiction of Lutheran theology long belonged to the Protestant canon of images.