"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"

Paper Summary:

The writer of this paper examines the biblical inspiration behind Durer's well known work of art. "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" are described in the "Book of Revelation," when the seven seals of the book are broken. The woodcut carving depicts four mounted men on an apparent mission of destruction. As the seals are broken, a white, red, and black horse subsequently appear, followed by a pale horse. This paper explores the various interpretations of Durer's carving. According to one commentator, the first white horseman is interpreted as Christ while another sees him as a false prophet. The writer illustrates certain aspects of this particular work of art, by clearly describing three of the powerful riders on their white, red and black horses galloping in the forefront of the carving, while the skeletal horse with the skeletal rider is evident in the background. The writer contends that Durer clearly understood and internalized the images detailed in the text, which resulted in his poignant and accurate depiction, that continues to yield a powerful and eerie resonance to this day.

From the Paper:

"In the print, three of the powerful riders on their white, red, and black horses gallop at the forefront of the work. The white horses' rider holds a bow and wears a medieval, peaked hat towards the background, the caped red horse's rider wields a sword, and nearest the foreground the black horse's rider is bareheaded, holding a scale. The skeletal horse with the skeletal man is evidently the pale horse's rider. The specificity of the artist illustrates that Durer knew the Biblical text's images quite intimately and wished to transcribe them in fairly accurate detail. However, the artist translates these images of war, pestilence, famine, and death into medieval terms of his own era-the warrior's crown of the white horse's rider is clearly of the artist's age, as is the garb of the second rider, and the small metal scales held by the third are similar to that of a medieval apothecary, used in weighing grain with weights."

More papers on "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse":

• Analytical Essay # 67756 : "The Movie Version of "The Turn of the Screw"
• Analytical Essay # 68201 : "The Symbolic Representation of the "Other"
• Book Review # 110661 : "The Book of Revelation"

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