Saint Matthias, from The Martyrdom of the Apostles

Saint Matthias, from The Martyrdom of the Apostles — Lucas Cranach the Elder. c. 1512.

Medium: Woodcut in black on ivory laid paper. Dimensions: Image/block/sheet: 16.2 × 12.6 cm (6 7/16 × 5 in.).

Collection record: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

Lucas Cranach designed his Martyrdom of the Twelve Apostles series in 1512. This clear and crisp impression of the impending decapitation of Saint Matthias derives from that early printing. The block was reprinted around 1548, with letterpress text on the back, to illustrate Martin Luther’s German translation of the Apostle’s Creed. Despite the series’ violent subject matter, the Protestant publisher of the c. 1548 edition dedicated the book to his daughters and referred to the images as “fine and pleasing.”

Description: © Art Institute of Chicago, original record, CC BY 4.0. HTML formatting removed; wording retained. Other artwork metadata: CC0.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.