Albrecht Dürer 1471 – 1528

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

woodcarving (39 ∅ 28 cm) — 1498 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Albrecht Dürer biography

This work is linked to Revelation 6:1

In his Revelation John saw how the Lamb of God, a symbol for Christ, opened the seven seals of a book. The first four seals each revealed a horseman:

1. white horse: horseman with bow, carrying a crown. Symbolizes disease;
2. red horse: horseman with sword. Symbolizes war;
3. black horse: horseman with scales. Symbolizes hunger, starvation;
4. pale horse: horseman with scythe. Death.
   

The print was one of fifteen in a series on the Apocalyps that Dürer published in 1498. It helped him greatly in spreading his fame across Europe.

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