Apocalypse

The visionary text of the last book of the New Testament, the Revelation of John, has inspired many artists from the Middle Ages to the present day. The invention of reproduction and the rise of book printing in the 15th century led to new means of expression. Albrecht Dürer was only twenty-seven years old in 1498 when he first published his Apocalypse series in book format, with separate German and Latin texts. He drew on illustrations from earlier Bibles, but transformed them into real visions worthy of the visionary text. Dürer's cycle influenced all Apocalypse illustrations in the following centuries. Artists adopted motifs or entire compositions from Dürer's scenes. Our exhibition will present four Apocalypse cycles by three outstanding Renaissance artists. Lucas Cranach (1472-1553) and Jean Duvet (circa 1485-1561), and a series by the Hungarian artist Béla Kondor (1931)-1972, several hundred years later.