Martin Luther Portrait, Engraving Incorrectly Titled Jean Calvin

This engraved portrait presents the German Reformation leader Martin Luther, although the printed caption beneath the image identifies the sitter as Jean Calvin. The likeness corresponds closely with traditional portraits of Luther, whose broader face and heavier features differ markedly from the well known, thin and ascetic appearance normally associated with the French theologian John Calvin.

Luther and Calvin were two of the most influential, yet quite different, leaders of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. Luther (1483–1546), a German monk and theologian, sparked the Reformation in 1517 when he published his famous Ninety Five Theses criticizing the sale of indulgences. His writings and teachings emphasized salvation through faith alone and the authority of scripture over church hierarchy, ideas that rapidly spread throughout German lands and beyond.

Calvin (1509–1564), born in France and later active in Geneva, belonged to the next generation of reformers. A systematic theologian and organizer, he helped shape Reformed Protestantism through his influential work Institutes of the Christian Religion and through the establishment of a disciplined Protestant community in Geneva. While both men were central figures of the Reformation, their personalities, theological emphases, and historical roles differed considerably.

Although this print is captioned Jean Calvin, the image itself corresponds to established iconography of Martin Luther. Examples of the same engraving appear elsewhere with Luther correctly identified, suggesting that the inscription on this impression reflects a printing or editorial error, or the reuse of a portrait plate with an incorrect caption. Such misidentifications are not uncommon in later engraved series depicting famous historical figures.

Despite the mistaken title, the engraving remains an interesting historical portrait of one of the central figures of the Protestant Reformation, and it also illustrates how later publishers sometimes confused or conflated the images of the era’s most famous reformers.

This beautiful large format lithograph comes from the book “Iconographie Françoise : Ou Portraits des Personnes les plus illustres qui ont paru en France depuis François Premier (et quelques années avant) jusqu’à la fin du règne de Louis XVI.”

Lithograph by Nicolas Eustache Maurin (1799-1815) after a painting by Olben.

From the publishing house of François-Séraphin Delpech (Paris 1778 – 1825) was a French art critic, artist and lithographer well-known for his portraits of famous historic figures.

Provenance: This lithograph was part of the collection of the library of the Chateau d’Hauteville, Vevey, Switzerland.