Martin Luther
By Ernst Rietschel
Category: Sculpture
About
Originally created in Worms, Germany, the statue was part of a group of works commissioned to commemorate Luther’s appearance before the Diet. The statue was unfinished at the time of the artist’s death, and was completed by his assistant. The St. Louis version is a cast of the original work.
Dimensions: 11′ 6″ x 5′ x 5′
Year Completed: 1903
Material: Bronze
Owner: Concordia Seminary
Donor: Unknown
About the artist:
Ernst Rietschel
1804-1861
At an early age, Rietschel became an art student at Dresden, and studied in Rome in 1827-28. He soon brought himself into the public view by creating a colossal statue of Frederick Augustus, King of Saxony; he was later elected a member of the academy of Dresden, and became one of the chief sculptors of his country. Rietschel’s style was varied; he produced works imbued with much religious feeling, but other works were purely classical in style. He was especially known for his portrait figures of eminent men, treated with much idealism and dramatic vigour.
