Albrecht Dürer
German painter, printmaker, 1471-1528
Vision of the Seven Candlesticks
1511
Woodcut on laid paper
15 1/2 X 11 1/16 inches (39.37 x 28.099 centimeters)
Purchase: SOTA Print Fund, 1967.
1967.029.000

In 1498 Albrecht Dürer published German and Latin editions of the Apocalypse, a book consisting of the text of the biblical book of Revelation and fifteen woodcuts inspired by Saint John's visions. This impression is from Dürer's third edition of the Apocalypse, published in 1511. In it he illustrated the passage where Christ appears to Saint John surrounded by seven candlesticks (symbolizing the seven churches in Asia), with seven stars in his right hand, and a two-edged sword coming out of his mouth.