Durer announced his revolutionary social message shrouded in a Biblical context and presented in a popular pictorial format understandable to all.  As a result, his works have quickly become enormously influential.  These works were considered deeply religious portrayals not only by Durer himself, but also by his audience, yet the works were not viewed as “ecclesiastical art”. 
Kuno Mittelstadt: Durer, Berlin, 1979.8 p.