Description of the engraving of Albrecht Dürer “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”
Apocalypse is the world-famous cycle of wood engravings by Albrecht Dürer on a religious theme. The series, made by the German artist in the three-year period from 1496, consists of 15 works depicting the biblical revelation of the final judgment. Prints were published twice. And the most famous is the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
The engraver’s work illustrates the words recorded in the sixth chapter of the Revelation of John about four colored horses and their riders. These riders are engraved from right to left. The first one – with a crowned head, lowered the reins of a white horse, pulled the bowstring all the way up and looked at it mercilessly – Winner. The second – waved his huge sword, blinded by rage, he is rapidly racing horse – War. The third – without a headdress, richly dressed, with weights in his right hand, with an indifferent look looking somewhere afar –
Behind the horse, according to the Bible, hell follows, which Durer portrayed in the form of a terrible beast with an open toothy maw. All the ranks are carried without noticing a handful of people under their hooves: there is a ruler in the royal crown, and a citizen with a peasant, even a monk. Above the rapid, threatening movement of figures, a lone winged angel soars. No one will escape punishment for evil acts committed during his life – this is what the master wants to show us in this engraving.
The characters are shown close to the viewer, so that the illusion of the fusion of real and drawn space is created. “Four Horsemen” is about to jump out of the frame and overtake everyone, retribution is inevitable. The artist shared his apocalyptic forebodings with us.
An engraving from 1498 gave Albrecht Durer deserved world fame.
Related posts:
- Albrecht Dürer’s engraving description “The Knight, Death and the Devil”“The Knight, Death and the Devil” – a medieval engraving of Durer, depicting a Christian knight, passing through a narrow gorge. His horse stands proudly, carries the rider with dignity and ease, despite the fact that the knight is chained in armor. A dog runs under the horse’s hooves, trying to keep up, the knight […]...
- Description of the engraving of Albrecht Durer “Rhino”The engraving is made on wood. It was this image that had a tremendous impact on art. Until the 18th century, this image was used in all textbooks on biology. Durer was able to draw a rhino, but he never saw him live. At this time in Europe it was believed that this animal exists […]...
- Description of the engraving of Albrecht Durer “Melancholy”The picture is a cutting engraving, the base of which is made of copper. Its author is the German artist Albrecht Dürer, who finished work on his creation in 1514. During the artist’s life, melancholic was decided to be divided into several types. Dürer himself referred to the first type. “Melancholy” art critics believe the […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Prodigal Son”The engraving is one of the variations of the parable about a man who has spent his father’s money and found himself in poverty. The history of this work goes back to the distant 1495, when Sebastian Brant published a poem on the subject of the Gospel parable. After that, the artist Albrecht Durer was […]...
- Description of the painting by Victor Vasnetsov “Wars of the Apocalypse”Viktor Vasnetsov painted the canvas in 1887. It depicts four horsemen from the sixth chapter of the Revelations of John the Theologian, these are biblical characters representing catastrophes on the eve of the end of the world, the Last Judgment. Vasnetsov depicted horses appearing one after another. In the foreground appeared a rider on a […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Self-portrait in 13 years”Albrecht Durer was one of the first artists of the West, who throughout his life created self-portraits. Thanks to a series of such paintings, one can trace changes in the artistic style of Dürer in a progression. The artist created the first engraving in 1484 – this is the painting “Self-portrait at the age of […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Four Witches”About this picture it is possible to say with confidence that it is one of the most popular in the work of Dürer. The engraving is called “The Four Witches”, and now we will examine in detail why this is what the art historians call it. The engraving depicts a small and dark room that […]...
- Description of the painting by Karl Bryullov “Horsemen”The canvas was written in 1849. Painting style: romanticism, portrait genre. The picture was painted on cardboard, using charcoal, varnish, watercolors and Italian pencil. Bryullov left us a creative legacy of his paintings. His portraits caused a lot of emotion among artists in the past century. Do not leave the viewer indifferent and after almost […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Adam and Eve”What do you know about medieval painting? Of course, many skilled craftsmen were addicted to it in these times. Here is one of the most interesting paintings by Durer “Adam and Eve” has a lot of fans from around the world. So, probably, it is worth getting acquainted with this work of art a little […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Father Albrecht Dürer (Portrait of Father)”German artist Albrecht Dürer is considered one of the most prominent representatives of the European Renaissance. His talent was very multifaceted – so, in addition to painting, Durer was fond of woodcuts, and became the first who elevated it to the rank of art. After the marriage, he opened his own workshop, at which the […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Hands praying”The history of this picture is amazing. This is not just a sketch of the hands, there is something more behind this image. Albrecht Durer captured on this engraving the hands of his brother, thanks to which the name of the artist is now known throughout the world. Sometime at the very beginning of a […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Barbara Durer”How beautiful and almost primitive portrait painting of the Middle Ages. It seems to be nothing so pretentious, normal serious faces or funny or slightly distorted by emotions. In this case, the mother of the artist Barbara Dürer is sitting in front of us. About the family of the artist, we can say that it […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Hare”One of the most famous works of German artist Albrecht Dürer. Despite the fact that the master has many more remarkable works, such as a deer with prominent horns, or a dead bird with a rainbow plumage. The story of painting a picture has several versions. According to one of them, once strolling, Dürer stumbled […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Four Apostles”The painting “The Four Apostles” depicts the apostles-evangelists. From left to right stand John, Peter, Mark and Paul, standing very closely, on one floor, representing a single whole. Uniform both in composition and in aspirations. However, if we compare the apostles with each other, they are completely different. John is tall, with a high forehead […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “A piece of sod”Albrecht Dürer was considered a real researcher of flora and fauna, as well as a passionate admirer of the theory of Renaissance art. Paintings always enthusiastically described his life, all aspects of family life. All this was described in his diary, which was devoted to traveling to Holland. Dürer was born in Nuremberg, Germany. The […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Portrait of Maximilian I”A. Dürer was born in a large family and his path to recognition was thorny. He married the artist mainly for the notion of his social status, for a long time his income was the sale of engravings. In adulthood, the artist acquired a patron, who became Maximilian I. Under his control, the author worked […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Holiday Rosary”Here is the most recognizable work of Albrecht Dürer, on which the artist worked for several years in Italy. The Church of Santo Bartolome for German parishioners living in Italy ordered this pictorial work from the superpopular Dürer at that time. In private correspondence with his acquaintance, Dürer wrote about the trend towards the use […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Portrait of a Venetian”O this wonderful face of a simple naive Venetian! For a long time in Europe it was believed that there are no more beautiful girls in the world than true Venetians. The city of love and sin has always been famous for its female beauty, even the old women looked noble and beautiful there, what […]...
- Description of the painting by “The Adoration of the Magi” by Albrecht DurerIn the Uffizi Art Museum in Florence, Italy, Albrecht Dürer’s religious painting is exhibited – “Adoration of the Magi”. The German master wrote the work to order to the electoral prince of Saxony, Friedrich the Wise, for his Catholic church in Wittenberg. Today, the picture is recognized as one of the most valuable fruits of […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Mary with the Child”In a series of his extraordinary portraits made during the decade (from 1510 to 1520), Dürer managed to bring together all the best qualities of a person. For many years he painted and studied human personalities in order to learn how to convey them as accurately as possible in his works. After a long search […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Portrait of a young man”“Portrait of a Young Man,” written in 1521, refers to the late works of Albrecht Dürer. The author at that time already took place as a portrait painter, having written several dozen portraits of famous people of his time. Creating a portrait, Durer sought to convey precisely the spiritual essence of the person depicted in […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “St. Jerome in the cell”Albrecht Durer – the great German artist of the Renaissance. The orientation in which the painter worked was filled with expressiveness and a desire for realism. The moments of the artist’s activities included a collection of “three workshops engravings” on a religious theme. One of them was the painting “St. Jerome”, it was created in […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “Self-portrait in the image of Christ”“Self-portrait” (another name of the painting “Self-portrait in clothes decorated with fur”) is one of the famous paintings of the artist, which was kept for a long time in his family and not intended for the general public. On the self-portrait, we still see a fairly young man with a beautiful face (the artist was […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Durer “The Adoration of the Holy Trinity” (1511g.)One of the most solemn works of Durer is “The Adoration of the Holy Trinity”. In 1511, the painting was ordered by the artist merchant and owner of the copper workshop Matthias Landauer. The artist’s work was intended for the altar of the chapel in the poorhouse for 12 lone artisans, which was built by […]...
- Description of the painting by Pablo Picasso “Minotavromachiya”In the work of Pablo Picasso was a period when he was engaged exclusively in engraving. In the prewar period, he created a series of works devoted to an ancient mythical creature – the Minotaur. The final work was the well-known and still inexplicable engraving “Minotavromachia”, written by the artist in 1935. In the engraving […]...
- Description of the painting by Albrecht Bloch “Winter”The famous American artist Albert Bloch was a supporter of modernism in painting. And like other adherents of this trend in art, he sought to find and approve completely new, previously unseen directions of pictorial art. One of his most popular works is the composition “Winter”. The combination of color solutions does not quite match […]...
- Description of the painting by Adam Albrecht “Horses at the Porch”The German battle painter Adam Albrecht was originally known for accompanying Napoleon’s march to Moscow. The events that took place in Russia made a painful impression on the artist, on his return to Munich in 1815, he decided to leave the battle painting and transferred to a calmer landscape with animals. Of particular popularity in […]...
- Albrecht Altdorfer’s painting “The Battle of Alexander the Great with Darius”1529 The grand battle is depicted in oil on canvas by a no less ambitious artist. It took Altdorfer not much time to create this masterpiece, as one might imagine looking at the picture. Very rich story, completeness and drawing a lot of details. Truly a great creation. It’s no wonder that this picture became […]...
- Description of the painting by Kazimir Malevich “Red Cavalry”“Red cavalry gallops” – one of the most famous abstract works of Kazimir Malevich. The exact date of writing is unknown. Approximate dating – 1928-1932 years. Difficulties with dating arise from the fact that Malevich, in most of his later works, affixed early dates. For many years, this was the only painting by Malevich, made […]...
- Description of the horse monument in VoronezhThe originality of our country can be envied. Russian people have always been famous for their unusual mentality, which often cannot be understood by other countries. Each country has its own monuments. Some of them personify victories in wars, others praise great people, some of them are symbolic, fourth original. The latter are increasingly popular. […]...
- Description of the painting by Franz Mark “Blue Horse”The Blue Horse is one of the most famous works of the German artist Franz Marc. However, it is different from other paintings by the artist. First of all, its main advantage is its special piercing and charm. The horse resembles a young boy who is still full of energy. He bent his head to […]...
- Description of the painting by William Blake “Nebuchadnezzar”The color engraving “Nebuchadnezzar” was made by an English artist, engraver and poet William Blake in 1795. Manual coloring, ink, watercolor were used. The work is filled with symbolism. The plot is taken from the book of Prophet Daniel. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar built Babylon to the glory of his power and greatness. For vanity […]...
- Description of the painting by Gustav Dore “Don Quixote”The famous French engraver and illustrator Gustave Dore wrote a lot of illustrations to the famous literary work of Cervantes Don Quixote. But this work is best known. In the illustrations of Dore, an artistic character is opened to the contemplator of the noble, kind. The main purpose of his life – the destruction of […]...
- Description of the painting by Peter Bruegel “Big fish eat small”The Dutch master of graphics and drawing, Peter Bruegel the elder, known under the nickname “The Peasant”, produced one of his first sheets “Big Fish Eating Small” in 1557 from drawings and was signed by the name of Bosch, who had already passed away by that time. Bosch’s work amazed and impressed Bruegel, and fake […]...
- Description of the painting by Paolo Veronese “The Conversion of Saul”In the visual art of the XVI century – the time of the decline of the Renaissance – the topic of complete spiritual change was very popular. After the hymn of the Renaissance hymn of sensuality and materiality, other times come when it all starts to lose its relevance. And artists find new ideas for […]...
- Description of the painting by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin “Bathing a red horse”Petrov-Vodkin’s artistic work entitled “Bathing a Red Horse” stands out among his other paintings at least in that it was known to everyone in Soviet times. And this is the era of the unconditional triumph of social realism! This picture is impressive in scope and brightness of colors. The color selection is built around the […]...
- Description of the painting by Viktor Vasnetsov “Oleg’s farewell to the horse”The creator of artistic masterpieces in the folk and historical genre is the painter V. M. Vasnetsov. Many will recognize the work of this Russian artist from illustrations of fairy tales and poems seen in childhood. “Oleg’s farewell to the horse” – watercolor work for Pushkin’s poem. This work in rhymed form tells the old […]...
- Description of the painting by Rubens “Hunting for tigers and lions”By the time of writing this picture Rubens was already a famous artist. He lacked the role of only the court portrait painter. Rubens had a desire to create something monumental, dynamic. As a result, he became the first to portray animals and people in such difficult poses. The painting “The Hunt for Tigers and […]...
- Description of the painting by Valentin Serov “George the Victorious”Valentin Serov was an outstanding master animal artist. Most of all attention in his works, he paid the image of horses. We can see these animals in almost all the paintings of the great Russian artist. Despite the fact that the work is called “George the Victorious”, the main actor is the horse. The first […]...
- Description of the painting by Victor Tsyplakova “Frost and Sun”Victor Tsyplakov’s painting Frost and Sun was painted at the beginning of the last century and is one of the best paintings of that time. For painting the canvas was used and oil paints, with which the artist managed to create a real masterpiece. The landscape in the picture is truly beautiful: a cold frosty […]...