The Luther Monument is a public artwork located at
Luther Place Memorial Church in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The
monument to Martin Luther, the theologian and Protestant
Reformer, is a
bronze full-length portrait. It is a copy of the statue created by
Ernst Friedrich August Rietschel as part of the 1868
Luther Monument in
Worms, Germany
Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had about 82,000 inhabitants .
A pre-Roman foundation, Worms is one of the oldest cities in northern Europe. It wa ...
. The monument was originally surveyed as part of the
Smithsonian's Save Outdoor Sculpture!
Save Outdoor Sculpture! (SOS!) was a community-based effort to identify, document, and conserve outdoor sculpture in the United States. The program was initiated in 1989 and ended in 1999.
History
Save Outdoor Sculpture! was initiated by Herit ...
survey in 1993.
Description
Martin Luther stands dressed in long robes with his
proper right
Proper right and proper left are conceptual terms used to unambiguously convey relative direction when describing an image or other object. The "proper right" hand of a figure is the hand that would be regarded by that figure as its right hand. ...
leg moving slightly forward. The sculpture, which shows an excommunicated Luther defending himself during his trial before the
Diet of Worms in 1521, features Luther resting his proper right hand on top of a large Bible that he holds in his proper left hand. His hair curls around his face and he looks outwards, looking slightly upwards. The sculpture stands on a three-tiered granite base (H 168 in. x W. 138 in.) and is surrounded by sunflowers and overlooks
Thomas Circle
Thomas Circle is a traffic circle in Northwest Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Vermont Avenue NW, 14th Street NW, and M Street NW. It is named for George Henry Thomas, a Un ...
.
The back of the sculpture, near the base, is engraved:
E. RIETSCHEL FACIT. GEGOSSEN LAUCHHAMMER 1884
In raised letters on the front of the base along with the founder's mark:
MARTIN LUTHER
Information
''Martin Luther'' is cast from an original mold of a statue by Rietschel which is part of the
Luther Monument, in
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany
Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
, Germany, a group of sculptures installed there in 1868. The version in Washington inspired the installation of eleven other castings across the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
It was installed in 1884.
Condition
This sculpture was surveyed in 1993 for its condition and was decided that treatment was "urgent."
See also
*
List of public art in Washington, D.C., Ward 2
References
External links
Martin Luther on dcMemorials
1884 sculptures
Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Cultural depictions of Martin Luther
Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C.
1884 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C.
Statues in Washington, D.C.
Outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Statues of writers
Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.)
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