 |
| Albrecht Durer's Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1497-1498) |
Albrecht Durer’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is estimated to be from 1497-1498. This is often known as Durer’s most famous work of art; however, he does have much other print/woodcut art. This is a woodcut type of printmaking art in which wood is carved and then ink is rolled on the art, and as a result from the carvings some parts of the work have ink and other parts do not. Also, since it was woodcut, Durer was able to have text printed on the back of each of his pieces.
In this piece
of work, we can see four horsemen. Each one of the horsemen represents
something different. The one with a bow represents Conquest, the one with a
sword represents War, then there is a black horse in the center that represents
Famine, and finally, the rider and horse on the bottom represent
Death/Sickness. These men on their
horses are depicted attacking or stomping on their foes. The meaning of this
work is in the fact that this is a visual depiction from the Book of
Revelation. (6:1-8) This piece of art is significant because previous artists have
depicted the scene with the horseman side by side, however, Durer has them
overlapping as the horse’s stomp over their enemies.
Finally, to truly make sense and understand the
depiction that Durer was imagining. We must take a look at the words from the
Book of Revelation. Once the passage is read, it is clear the detail/passage
that Durer is depicting with his art.
"And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and its rider had a bow; and
a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. When he
opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, 'Come!' And out
came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the
earth, so that men should slay one another; and he was given a great sword.
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, 'Come!'
And I saw, and behold, a black horse, and its rider had a balance in his hand;
... When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature
say, 'Come!' And I saw, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider's name was
Death, and Hades followed him; and they were given great power over a fourth of
the earth; to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild
beasts of the earth." (Book Of Revelation (6:1-8)).
No comments:
Post a Comment