The Pope as a savage. Satirical allegory 1545

Melchior Lorck's 1545 woodcut, "The Pope as a Savage. Satirical Allegory," is a powerful critique of the Catholic Church. The work depicts the Pope as a monstrous figure, with a beastly head and horns, holding a key and a cross. He stands amidst flames and surrounded by figures representing the evils of the Church. The inscription "MART LUTHERED" at the bottom of the print clearly identifies the work as a Protestant critique of the Catholic Church. This work, now housed in the SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst, is a significant example of the Reformation-era's artistic and ideological debates.