Martin Luther and the Renaissance on show in Los Angeles

This portrait of church reformer Martin Luther was painted in 1532 in the Cranach atelier in Wittenberg. Lucas Cranach the Elder and his son, Lucas Cranach the Younger, earned a fortune with their works. With their portraits of Luther and his contemporaries, they gave a face to the religious revolution between the Middle Ages and the Modern era.

The Cranachs churned out an incredible number of paintings - experts believe more than 5,000 originated in their workshop. In part, they worked with stencils. This painting, on the other hand, was painted by Albrecht Dürer in 1526. It shows Jakob Muffel of one of Nuremberg's oldest aristocratic families. Dürer's attention to detail makes the work resemble a photograph.

Hans Brosamer created this woodcarving in 1519, which polemically depicts Luther with seven heads for the cover page of a pamphlet. Each head has a different name. Luther is defamed as an anti-Christ in the image, as apocalyptic beasts also had seven heads.

The Western world in the Middle Ages was largely Christian, and it was typical for artists to base their motifs almost exclusively on biblical themes. Such images had pedagogical value, since most people were unable to read or write. This painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, depicting the Israelites passing through the Red Sea which God had miraculously split, is from 1530.

The creator of this Mary and child statue from Tauberbischofsheim is clearly a genius. Tilman Riemenschneider (ca. 1460- 1531) is considered one of the most significant sculptors from the period between the Late Gothic and the Renaissance. He built impressive altars and occasionally non-religious works as well. The facial expressions of his figures are particularly vivid.

In the early Modern era, people thought witches held regular meetings with the devil to arrange evil business. Hans Franck painted one such dark rendezvous in 1515 using ink and grey paper.

The Renaissance period brought numerous changes with it. At this time, art was gradually liberated from its religious context and appreciated for its aesthetic power. This marked the beginning of an era in which the independent artist played a central role. A good example is this work by Matthias Grünewald depicting a crying child.

This elaborately decorated chest, made from copper, brass, gold and silver, was presumably created in the workshop of Wenzel Jamnitzer. Jamnitzer was one of the most famous goldsmiths of his day and worked for all of the German emperors.

Made of iron, this set of Maximilian armor belonged to Duke Wolfgang von Anhalt-Köthen and was fashioned between 1520 and 1530. The suit weighs a good 27 kilograms (nearly 60 pounds) and was nearly obsolete by the time it was made. In the early Modern era, polished plate armor was en vogue instead.

The exhibition "Renaissance and Reformation: German Art in the Age of Dürer and Cranach" is on show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art through March 26. Works are on loan from museums in Berlin, Dresden and Munich.