Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon, from "The Apocalypse" (1498)
Original title: Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon, from "The Apocalypse"
kurzbeschreibung
Albrecht Dürer's 1498 woodcut shows the archangel Michael fighting the dragon, a motif from the Book of Revelation. The print belongs to the Apocalypse series, Dürer's first extensive set of printed graphics.
Description
In the foreground, several winged angels with weapons attack a monster distinguished by numerous heads and tails. Behind them, more angels join the assault. A landscape with mountains, trees, and a village fills the lower area. The layout is dynamic and crowded with figures; bold contours and finely worked lines define the late Gothic style.
Context
The Apocalypse series was created in 1498 in Nuremberg, a time of religious tension and widespread expectations of the end times. It was published as a book with Latin and German text and proved a commercial success. With woodcut still a relatively new technique, Dürer sought to reach a wide audience.
Impact
From the viewer's perspective, the urgent movement of the figures first draws the eye, then the sharp contours that make the battle between Michael and the dragon feel immediate and close. This intensity carries the apocalyptic message of the print.
Technique
On this sheet, the even, unmodulated black of the printing ink and the uncoloured paper ground meet in thin, sharply defined lines and dense parallel hatching. That contrast of ink and paper is what gives the figures their depth and surface texture, an unusually refined result for its time. The sheet's condition shows the ink sitting firmly on the paper, so the linear structure of the image remains fully legible.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)