This lecture will ask how and why Lutheranism – a confession that insisted upon the pre-eminence of God51²è¹Ý¶ù Word – became a visually magnificent faith, a faith whose adherents sought to capture Christians’ hearts and minds through seeing as well as through hearing. It will explore the legacy of Martin Luther51²è¹Ý¶ù Wittenberg Reformation and the development of a theologically grounded aesthetic, and will consider the ways in which images were used to articulate Lutheran identity into the eighteenth century.