The Selling of Indulgences
Designed by Hans Holbein the Younger German
Not on view
Inscribed: K∙DAVID / MANASSES / OFFEN∙SVNDER
Holbein's woodcut seizes upon Luther's critique of the selling of indulgences by the Roman Catholic Church. At right, Pope Clement VII, identified by the Medici coat of arms, hands a letter of indulgence to a cleric. Meanwhile, in the foreground, a mother throws money into an offertory box at the behest of a priest, so that he will bless her son. Grace is given in exchange for payment and thus is not available to the beggar standing next to the table where the indulgence letters are prepared. At left, contrasting this commercial exploitation, the Old Testament Kings David and Manasseh and an "open sinner" plead to God for mercy, who accepts their repentance with open arms.
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