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First of all, that's an interesting title to the woodcut.Looks like the message being conveyed is banishment from Eden then salvation through Christ.
I would have to agree with Ski at first glance. Without further context, where it is, or what work it is park of I could go no further than guessing it illustrates some kind of morality. Salvation seems to fit the imagery best though.
You are all correct in the elements, but there is something else going on. Perhaps it is too hard to tell from the picture alone. However, I will give you a hint to look at the date of the woodcut that I provided.
The creation? Adam & Eve are the background, and Christ's death and Resurrection are in the foreground and it looks like the Judgment in the background again. From an edition of Dante perhaps?
Ok, here's the answer. Donroc, you were close with Durer, but it is actually from Lucas Cranach. It was done during the heart of the Protestant Reformation. It basically shows the Protestant view of Catholic and Protestant views of salvation. On the left is the Catholic view, which Cranach shows as being based on fear and/or failure of abiding by the Ten Commandments. On the right is the Protestant view, represented as salvation being made possible by God's grace. So implicit here is the faith/works issue that was such a critical issue around that time.
1530 : The Confession of Augsburg and The Schmalkaldic Leaguehttp://europeanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa051101a.htm The woodcut is displaying both the Old and the New Testament :
The creation? Adam & Eve are the background, and Christ's death and Resurrection are in the foreground and it looks like the Judgment in the background again.
Old Testament:- Adam and Eve- Moses and the Table of Laws- Death and a Demon chasing ppl into Hell- in the background : The Last JudgementNew Testament:- the Crucifixion (with the Agnus Dei) and the Holy Spirit (the dove), a man saved by the Christ-Holy Spirit redemption- the Resurrection (Christ victorious, stepping on death and Satan)- 2 angels in the sky, one is falling (or enlightening sheppers : the Nativity, the 3 Wise Men?), the other trumpeting towards a woman (Mary? the Annunciation?)- a military camp (ppl slaugthered: Massacre of the Innocents? and snakes all around)I'd say this woodcut is displaying Lutherian values (Mary in the background isn't playing an important role and there is no image of the Pope, the Clergy or any Catholic symbols but the Testament only)About the author, I don't know ???
Ok, here's the answer. Donroc, you were close with Durer, but it is actually from Lucas Cranach. It was done during the heart of the Protestant Reformation. It basically shows the Protestant view of Catholic and Protestant views of salvation. On the left is the Catholic view, which Cranach shows as being based on fear and/or failure of abiding by the Ten Commandments. On the right is the Protestant view, represented as salvation being made possible by God's grace. So implicit here is the faith/works issue that was such a critical issue around that time.
I was 2 min. short :-[
I think they're supposed to be demons, because salvation eluded the people since their works/adherence to the Ten Commandments were always “insufficient”.
The two coming out of the woods look like death and pestilence to me. It may represent two views. I still think it can be taken as a holistic whole with one side representing damnation and the other salvation.
I think the camp in the back of the right section may be a scene from the Old Testament, with the snake raised aloft. There is some juxtaposition going on between that and the Crucifixion, a the (tau) crosses are the same in each.It does seem like it could be read directly as damnation/salvation, though the actual title of the woodcut, Law and Grace, points to a Catholic/Protestant context.
The following art of work can be found in the city of Gotha(m?), Germany Law and Grace, by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The left side of the tree illustrates law, while the right side illustrates grace.Law demands obedience to God's will, while Gospel refers to the promise of forgiveness of sins in the light of the person and work of Jesus Christ.The left side of the tree seems dead whereas the right side is full of leaves ... 😮
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