The Four Horsemen, from The Apocalypse

Discussion

FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

In 1498 Dürer published a book illustrating the Revelation of John or the Apocalypse of John, the last book of the New Testament. The images were unique in their large scale, breadth of concept, and unity of design. The first book to be both published and illustrated by the artist, it comprised a title page and 15 full-sheet woodcuts featuring text on the verso of all the sheets except the last one. Often visible through the paper, the text mars the image on the recto of the sheet. The finest impressions were most often printed without text, like this one of The Four Horsemen . Here, Dürer suggested the vigorous momentum of the horsemen through the windblown clothing of the riders, the windswept clouds, and the figures trampled beneath the hooves of the approaching horses.

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