Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon, from "The Apocalypse" (1511)
Original title: Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon, from "The Apocalypse"
kurzbeschreibung
Albrecht Dürer's woodcut from 1511 shows the archangel Michael fighting a multi-tailed dragon, a motif from the Book of Revelation. The print belongs to the artist's famous Apocalypse series and was made using the woodcut technique.
Description
The archangel Michael stands at the center, raising his sword, while a large, winged dragon with several tails faces him. Other angels with wings and weapons join the battle. Below, a landscape with trees, hills, and a river unfolds. The image is monochrome with even lighting, as is typical of woodcuts.
Context
The Apocalypse series was created between 1496 and 1498 and saw a second edition in 1511 with a new title page. This woodcut illustrates chapter 12 of Revelation, in which Michael defeats the dragon. The series is considered an early example of Dürer's artistic and economic independence, as he published it himself.
Impact
The archangel's central position and the dynamic threat posed by the dragon create immediate drama. The clear contours and high-contrast cutting give the figures a powerful, almost monumental presence.
Technique
The sheet presents the scene as a compact, upright composition in which the combatants fill the picture field and the landscape below anchors the action. Monochrome linework and even tonality give the figures sharp contours against the light background, so that the battle reads immediately across the page.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)