The Apocalyptic Woman, from "The Apocalypse", Latin Edition
Original title: The Apocalyptic Woman, from "The Apocalypse", Latin Edition
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike many contemporary prints of the Book of Revelation, Albrecht Dürer's woodcut 'The Apocalyptic Woman' from the 1511 Latin edition of the Apocalypse brings both the threat and the protection of the Woman of the Apocalypse into view at once: dragons and angels surround her. The image is executed in Renaissance style and without colour.
Description
A symmetrical layout governs the sheet: at the centre, on a rock, stands the female figure interpreted as Mary, above her an angel with a crown. Several dragons fight around her in a battle scene. At the top sits a figure meaning God or Christ, surrounded by floating angels. Stars and clouds fill the sky and heighten the apocalyptic mood. The garments of the figures follow customary Renaissance forms.
Context
In 1511 the woodcut appeared within a Latin edition of the Apocalypse. This belongs to a series of 15 woodcuts by Dürer that first came out in 1498 under the title 'The Secret Revelation of John'. The series was made during Dürer's early Nuremberg years, before he travelled to Italy. The Latin version of 1511 addressed an educated, international audience and cemented Dürer's reputation as a master of the woodcut.
Impact
What sustains the print is its dramatic symmetry and the clear separation of heaven and earth. The absence of colour gives the scene a graphic force that makes the apocalyptic threat immediately palpable.
Technique
Tightly controlled linear hatching carves the monochrome surface into graded light and shadow, giving the figures and rocky terrain a sculptural, almost carved presence. Dürer's assured command of the line makes the dense cross-hatching read as volume and atmosphere rather than mere decoration, so that the apocalyptic scene gains dramatic depth even without colour.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)