Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer elevated the woodcut medium to a level of refinement previously seen only in engraving, which had reached its peak of sophistication three decades prior. In this remarkable woodcut, Dürer skillfully employs lines that swell and taper to differentiate between light and shadow, thereby crafting a sense of depth.
This woodcut is a part of Dürer's Apocalypse series. "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven." In the story described by the Biblical Revelation of Saint John, a final battle unfolds at the world's end, pitting Heaven against Hell, and virtue against vice. As the leader of God's celestial forces, Archangel Michael commands the angels in their struggle against wickedness, symbolized in the artwork by a seven-headed dragon where each head signifies one of the seven deadly sins. Dürer captures this epic confrontation at the moment Saint Michael drives his spear into one of the dragon's heads. Encircling Saint Michael, three additional angels are depicted poised for combat. Below the celestial battle, a peaceful landscape stretches out, featuring mountains and a quaint town, its tranquility underscored by a church crowned with a lofty spire in the distance. Dürer marks this scene with his iconic "AD" monogram at the page's lower-center, a signature feature in all his engravings.
P.S. In our DailyArt Shop, you can find a premium print with another epic depiction of heaven and hell; the original was made at the same time as Dürer's engraving, but it looks completely different!
P.P.S. Have you heard about the magic square? Albrecht Dürer included this figure in his Melencolia I engraving. Explore this enigmatic symbol! For more art by Dürer see the articles below.