St John's Vision of Christ and the Seven Candlesticks
Collection:CSM Museum & Study Collection
Date: c.1497 - 1498
Maker: Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471 - 1528)
Printer: Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471 - 1528)
Dimensions:
Image: 392 x 280 mm (39.2 x 28 cm)
Sheet: 466 x 322 mm (46.6 x 32.2 cm)
Medium: Black printing ink on laid paper
Object number: P.107
DescriptionThis print is often referred to as "Christ: The World Governor". The block for this print was cut between 1497 and 1498 for Durer's Apocalypse (published in 1498). It was the third image in the series, its subject being taken from Revelations (the last book of the Bible). The original text (which can be found in Latin on the verso) was taken from Koberger's German Bible (Nuremberg 1493) and was printed in two columns. A German edition and a Latin edition were published in 1498. The German edition was called "Die heimlich offenbarung iohnis"; the Latin edition, "Apocalipsis cum figuris". Koburger had taken over the woodcuts used in the Cologne Bible (1480) and although Durer employed the general scheme of the Cologne Bible he was 'the first to be permeated with the overwhelming inner meaning and superhuman power of expression of the poet evangelist, and the first to epitomise the drama of the world's destiny in the Revelation of a personal, spiritual creed, thereby giving this book 'the first place in German illustrative art.' (Willi Kurth). The composition is heavily influenced by Italian art (working on the drama of a centralised motif).
