Albrecht Dürer

'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse' from 'The Apocalypse: Revelation of Saint John the Divine'

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About this artwork

A woodcut is made using a wooden block onto which the design is cut free-hand or drawn. Knives and chisels are used to carve away blank areas of the composition, leaving only the lines of the drawing standing in relief. Ink is applied to the raised design and the image transferred to paper. The quality and originality of Dürer’s woodcuts and engravings raised the status of printmaking as an art. In this famous woodcut, every inch is filled with intricate detail. In the image, four terrible horsemen appear in Saint John’s apocalyptic vision; Death the Conqueror, War, Famine and, in the foreground, the shrivelled reaper pitching his motley harvest into Hell.

Updated before 2020

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Albrecht Dürer

Albrecht Dürer