Law and Grace

The Law and Grace composition (1529) at the National Gallery Prague is a theologically complex painting that functioned as a visual catechism — a painted explanation of the central Lutheran distinction between the Old Testament law and the New Testament grace that Luther considered the foundation of Christian salvation. The painting divides into two halves: on one side, figures overwhelmed by the law's condemnation, death, and the serpent; on the other, figures redeemed through Christ's sacrifice and the promise of salvation. Cranach worked closely with Luther on these theological images, and Luther may have directly guided the iconographic program. Multiple versions exist — Cranach produced several treatments of this composition for Lutheran patrons across Saxony and beyond — each slightly varying the arrangement while maintaining the essential theological structure. The National Gallery Prague holds its version as part of the museum's comprehensive representation of Central European Renaissance painting, the work connecting Bohemian collections to the Wittenberg tradition that shaped Protestant visual culture throughout the region.

The clear, didactic composition with labeled figures and scenes demonstrates Cranach's ability to translate theological concepts into legible visual narratives, with characteristic precision in the detailed biblical vignettes.