For All the Saints: Dürer, Cranach, Grünewald, Michelangelo

Self-portrait of Dürer, who died
on this day in 1528. 

On Lutheran calendars, four Renaissance artists (three Germans and an Italian) are commemorated today. Albrecht
Dürer (1471-1528) was an influential painter and print maker known for his engravings, woodcuts, and watercolors. Lucas Cranach der Ältere (c. 1472 – 1553) was also a printmaker and painter, who was also a portraits and artist of religious subjects. Matthias Grünewald (c. 1470 – 1528) was another painter of religious subjects, who retained a late Medieval Central European style in his work. His best known piece, the large Isenheim Altarpiece, was an inspiration to the twentieth-century theologian Karl Barth. Finally, Michelangelo (1475-1564) was an Italian, High Renaissance sculptor, painter, engineer and poet who has needless to say, significantly influenced Western art and is one of the greatest artists.

Dürer, Grünewald, and Cranach are honored on the Episcopal calendar on August 5.