Is Your Luther Exhibition Open Yet?

I've been asked this question several times during this past week. My answer has always been the same, "Not yet, but we're certainly working on it. Try mid-May."

Some real progress was made on some of the exhibits today, and I know that much more is planned between now and the weekend. Do keep checking this space ... .

One of the most extensive Luther Exhibitions was available to view in Minneapolis School Of Art in the early stages of this year. The advertising blurb definitely caused all Reformation enthusiasts to salivate:

"Perhaps the greatest compilation of items examining the life and times of Martin Luther – the monk who broke away from the Catholic Church to embark on the Protestant Reformation – is on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Art."

• First editions of 'Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,'

• chests used to collect money for indulgences,

• and Luther's early translations of the Bible into German,

bring the Reformation era alive.

"You'll never see this accumulation of Reformation objects in one place again," said Tom Rassieur, MIA curator of prints and paintings. With this kind of line up it is impossible to disagree with him.

But I didn't make it to Minneapolis ... .

Nor am I likely to embark on a trip to New Zealand any time soon where another major Luther Exhibition is about to go on display on 24th March 2017.

Located in the University of Otago, New Zealand (pictured above), this presentation is called, '500 Years On. Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation.' It is designed to be, "a celebratory one that not only acknowledges Luther’s provocative action back in October 1517, but also the result, the spread of Reform that followed across Europe."

The list of exhibits is almost as impressive as that boasted by Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Notable items include:

• Hartmann Schedel’s famed Nuremberg Chronicle, printed in 1493;

• a late 15th century medieval Book of Hours;

• a sheet of the German Bible, printed in 1483,

• an early guidebook to Rome (1515),

• and most notably, a rare Latin Bible (1481) that contains fragments of indulgences printed by William Caxton.

Luther’s own work features, including:

• his Deuteronomy (1525),

• his Works (1550),

• and a facsimile of his Bible, Die Propheten Alle Deutsch [1534].

Works by Johannes Cochlaeus, Erasmus, and Philip Melancthon, Luther’s friend and colleague, also feature. Also on display are colourful facsimile leaflets (flugblatt) from the period. They include Weiditz’s ‘Käsebauer und Käsefrau’ [Cheesemaker and his wife] (1521) and Erhard Schön’s ‘Der Teufel mit der Sackpfeife’ [The Devil playing the Bagpipe], 1535.

Our exhibition at the Martyrs may not have any original C16th productions on display, but there will definitely be several unique and intriguing items. Be sure to book your slot!