Five hundred years ago, the reformer Martin Luther rebelled against his Church, penning 95 theses criticising the sale of indulgences in exchange for salvation. Thanks to the printing press, this dispute within the Church had unexpectedly far-reaching repercussions – and so the Reformation was born! To commemorate this 500th anniversary, the Musée international de la Réforme takes a closer look at a technology that both transformed Christianity and changed people’s mindsets.

A purpose-built reproduction of a Gutenberg press measuring 3 m tall will be used to hand-print a single large-format copy of the Bible in the 16th-century style. Visitors will be able to participate in the process, as each of the 800 pages, from Genesis to the Apocalypse, emerges from the press before being bound on 31 October, the last day of the exhibition. The text is based on a modern French translation by contemporary authors, known as the ‘Bayard Bible’.

John Armleder, Marc Bauer, Vidya Gastaldon and Mai-Thu Perret will create original works of art directly on the press, in the footsteps of the great Renaissance illustrators Lucas Cranach and Hans Holbein.