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Primary sourcePaintingc. 1523

Woodcut from Luther's Sermon on Worldly Authority

Martin Luther · c. 1523

A woodcut portrait of Martin Luther printed in a 16th-century pamphlet containing his own sermon on worldly rule and the sword.

This woodcut illustrates Luther's own sermon on worldly authority, directly tied to his written work.

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Black and white woodcut of a bearded... no, a clean-shaven older man in a monk's hooded garment and white collar, seen in three-quarter view within an arched architectural frame. Date 1520 is carved at upper right; a book with ornate border rests at lower right.
Woodcut illustration from Martin Luther, Von weltlicher Oberkeit, Augsburg: Philipp Ulhart, c. 1523. Deutsche Fotothek, Germany.

About this source

What it is

This woodcut portrait of Martin Luther was printed in a pamphlet of his own sermon, 'Von weltlicher Oberkeit' (On Worldly Authority), published in Augsburg by Philipp Ulhart around 1523. It is held by the Deutsche Fotothek in Germany.

Why it matters

In this sermon, Luther wrote about the relationship between religious belief and the power of worldly rulers, a topic central to debates during the Reformation about Church and state. The printed portrait tied his authorship directly to these influential ideas.

Look closer

  • Why do you think this sermon about rulers and obedience needed Luther's own image attached to it?
  • What does the architectural frame around Luther suggest about how the printer wanted him to appear?
  • What questions does this image raise about who read these pamphlets and why?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Martin Luther on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scan of a printed page with a black-and-white woodcut portrait of a man with short curly hair in a monastic-style robe with a high collar, holding a book with a decorated cover. Architectural columns frame him, and the date 1520 is printed at upper right.Painting

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