Accession Number
2007/2.108

Title
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott), illustration #29 from Timotheus Klein's Martin Luther (Berlin: Fritz Gurlitt Verlag, 1920-21)

Artist(s)
Lovis Corinth

Artist Nationality
German (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1920

Medium & Support
lithograph on handmade beige paper

Dimensions
12 5/8 in. x 9 3/4 in. ( 32.07 cm x 24.77 cm )

Credit Line
Gift of the Ernst Pulgram and Frances McSparran Collection

Label copy
Oskar Kokoschka
Austria, 1886–1980
The Pleading (Die Flehende)
1914
Lithograph
Gift of the Ernst Pulgram and Frances McSparran Collection, 2007/2.121
Alfred Kubin
Austria, 1887–1959
The Bremen Town Musicians (Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten)
1940
Graphite on paper
Gift of the Ernst Pulgram and Frances McSparran Collection, 2007/2.118
Lovis Corinth
Germany, 1858–1925
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott)
1920
Ink on paper
Gift of the Ernst Pulgram and Frances McSparran Collection, 2007/2.108
Prints and printing processes held a special position in the practices of Expressionist artists. On a practical level, prints were an easy way disseminate images and obtain income. For artists like Otto Dix and George Grosz, whose work had significant social and political dimensions, printmaking became a way to reach the masses. Yet prints were also a way to both tap into medieval German artistic traditions and reinvigorate traditional practices in the midst of increasing mechanization. Many Expressionists turned to German sources for their print subjects; these three works are based on a Bach cantata in the Kokoschka, a German folktale in the Kubin, and an illustrated history of Martin Luther in the Corinth.

Subject matter
A depiction of the wars that resulted from Martin Luther's Reformation - specifically, an army marching to battle under the banner of Martin Luther's most famous hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."

Physical Description
An approaching army in the foreground, with pikes or lances held in fists. A mounted soldier in the background carries a lance. At the top of the image is the phrase, left to right: "EINE feste Burg ist unser GOTT" — the first line to Martin Luther's hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."

Primary Object Classification
Drawing

Primary Object Type
life drawing

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Christianity
German (culture or style)
Germany
Reformation
War
armies
army
hymns (oral or performed works)
world religions