Martin Luther predikend in een kerk 1550

Hans Brosamer created this woodcut depicting Martin Luther preaching in a church sometime between 1536 and 1552. Set against the backdrop of the Reformation, this image encapsulates the period’s seismic shift in religious and social structures. Luther stands elevated, his open book signifying the challenge to established dogma. The diverse congregation, including women and children, highlights the broad appeal and impact of Luther's teachings on all levels of society. However, it’s worth asking: whose stories are not being told here? How might the experience of women, or of those marginalized by class, complicate this seemingly unified image of religious reform? Perhaps that scene in the background showing people leaving the church offers a counternarrative. This woodcut serves not just as a historical document, but as a reminder of the ongoing dialogue between power, belief, and individual experience. It captures a moment of change, inviting us to reflect on the complexities of faith and society then, and now.