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DÜRER, Albrecht: The Revelation of St John: 5. Opening the Fifth and Sixth Seals

🖼 The Revelation of St John: 5. Opening the Fifth and Sixth Seals, 1497-98
Woodcut
39 × 28 cm
Karlsruhe, Germany

Apocalyptic chaos erupts across crowded composition: skeletal Death rides triumphant while the faithful perish beneath celestial violence, rendered in Dürer's intricate woodcut technique. This scene from Revelation fundamentally shaped Northern Renaissance interpretations of religious eschatology and established the visual language for depicting Christian apocalypse.

The story of art
The story of art
E. H. Gombrich
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