No One Who Puts His Hand on the Plow and Looks Back ia a Follower of Christ 1549

Augustin Hirschvogel's 1549 engraving, "No One Who Puts His Hand on the Plow and Looks Back Is a Follower of Christ," depicts a scene from the Gospel of Luke. A man plows a field with a pair of oxen, while Christ and his disciples walk beside him. The scene is set in a landscape with a town and a fortified castle in the distance. Hirschvogel's meticulous attention to detail is evident in the realistic depiction of the figures, animals, and landscape. The inscription below the image, "Whosoever puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62), is a reminder that one should never turn back from one's commitment to Christ. The artwork reflects the growing interest in realistic depiction of the world in the 16th century.