Ritter Hartmut von Cronberg bei dem Reformator Oecolampadius in Basel c. 1866 - 1867

Victor Müller made this pencil drawing, Ritter Hartmut von Cronberg bei dem Reformator Oecolampadius in Basel, sometime around the mid-19th century. Müller lived through the 1848 revolutions and the unification of Germany, all events which fueled a rising sense of German nationalism. Here we see a moment between the knight Hartmut von Cronberg and the reformer Johannes Oecolampadius set in Basel. Cronberg was an early supporter of the reformation and corresponded with many of its key figures, like Oecolampadius and Martin Luther. Although Cronberg was a knight, and therefore of noble birth, he was excluded from the Imperial Diet because he embraced the reformation. Notice the way Müller elevates the reformer Oecolampadius over the knight, who stands to the side. The two women are listening attentively as the bearded reformer speaks. This sketch seems to depict an imagined conversation, a moment of religious and intellectual exchange. Müller’s drawing offers a vision of a historical narrative, one that emphasizes the moral and spiritual dimensions of German identity, during a time of great social and political change.