(piano music) Man: We're in the Alte Pinakothek,
a museum in Munich in Germany. We're looking at Albrecht
Durer's monumental Diptych. It's actually two panels,
The Four Apostles. Woman: This is such an
interesting painting because it's at this very
moment that the Protestant Reformation is taking place
and Durer, the artist, converted to Protestantism. That is, he converted from Catholic, from being a follower of the Pope in Rome to being a follower of Martin Luther. Man: I'm not sure that
that would be clear to just anybody looking at this painting. So how do we know that? Woman: Durer depicted in
the foreground the two apostles who were the
favorites of Martin Luther, Paul and John. And he is depicted behind John, the apostle who is most associated
with the papacy, with the Pope, Peter. Man: He is the one that is
holding that large gold key, which is the key to the Kingdom of heaven. Woman: Right there we have the Reformation because the Reformation
was about Luther's idea that we go back to the Bible,
to the original source, to learn about God and
how to achieve salvation, not the church and its
practices, but the word of God. Man: The idea that the
average person would have to have heaven unlocked by the
papacy was no longer relevant. We all had access to the Bible. Woman: Exactly. We could
have a personal relationship with God by reading the
Bible and through prayer. Man: So this is only 50
years after Gutenberg had invented the printing
press in the West. The Bible was being
printed and distributed. It was being translated by Luther actually into German. No longer only in Latin,
but now in the common languages. Woman: Before that Bibles
were only in the hands of the monks and the priests. We see Luther's translation of the
Bible actually in this painting. At the bottom we see the
words The Four Apostles. Man: Let's just go through this
so we know who everybody is. On the left panel in red
closest to us is John. We know it's John because of the sense of serenity that is so
associated with him. We've already established that the
man in back of him older, bald, and holding the key is Saint Peter. But on the right side in the
foreground, that is Saint Paul. As we might expect, Paul is holding a book and he's holding a sword. Woman: Right he was killed by
the sword and he held the book because he's also the author of
the letters in the New Testament. Man: In the back of him is Saint Mark who can be seen holding a scroll. Woman: With Saint Paul
we have another apostle who was important to Luther. It was Paul's words that inspired Luther. Paul wrote, "The just
shall live by faith alone." It was by faith, not by good
works, that one gets to heaven. This was the central
idea of the Protestants. Man: But I want to spend a moment
looking at what the artist achieved. What Durer achieved. These men are so powerful. There is such a sense of monumentality. Woman: They're each so different. With John there is a
sense of calm as he reads. Man: Peter on the other hand is older and he seems to be reading
almost over John's shoulder, looking at what John has
been showing him, learning. Woman: And I think a sense
of subservience to John too. Man: Well his attribute, the key, is almost forgotten. All of their attention is on that book. Woman: And in fact the
Bible is open to a passage that reads, "In the beginning was the Word "and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God." So this idea of not looking to the church but of looking to the very word of God, and then on the right two
very different personalities. Again Mark, who seems to be
on the lookout for some kind of danger on the horizon. Man: Whereas Paul looks
as if he has completely come to terms with the danger
that he puts himself in. Woman: He looks defensive. Man: Almost a kind of anger. Woman: All of these
different personalities speak in different ways to this incredible moment of conflict. Man: Well this was a
tremendously dangerous moment. Luther is rebelling against the church. These are states that are
breaking away from the church. Woman: And wars are going to be
fought and people are going to die. People really had to
decide which path to take to follow the churches path to salvation or follow the Protestants
path to salvation. Think about it. The fate of one's
very soul depended on this decision. Man: There were also
practical considerations because Durer as an artist, by
giving up the Catholic faith, was giving up the patronage
of the church as well. Woman: That's right
because one of the things Luther's followers said,
and Luther himself, was concerned about was the
roll of the image of the church. They were concerned that people were
worshiping images instead of God. So the areas that converted
to Protestantism in Europe, the church doesn't
commission works of art. The church was the main patron of art. Man: In fact, this was not a commission. These two paintings were
made by Durer on his own and he gave it to the town
elders and they were placed in the town hall in Nuremberg. Woman: We have written into
this painting the perilousness of the time that Durer lived. In those four passages below we have the writings of the four apostles warning of false prophets, warning that
human beings could easily go astray, and the importance of
listening to the word of God and not to human interpreters. There is something in
that compressed space that these figures occupy
that focuses us on that idea of these figures
transmitting the word of God. Man: So what a moment. People's
religious understanding is being reinvented and
Durer here is reinventing the way painting would respond. (piano music)