Eagle of Saint John the Evangelist (Bamberg Apocalypse)

A stylized, haloed eagle with white head and dark wings is perched upon a curling, light-colored scroll. The eagle is shown in profile facing left, with its wings partially unfurled in a stiff, heraldic posture. The background is a flat, deep brown color, and the eagle’s feathers are rendered with linear, decorative strokes characteristic of Ottonian manuscript illumination.

This image is a detail from the Bamberg Apocalypse, a seminal Ottonian manuscript representing the four evangelists through their traditional zoomorphic symbols derived from the Tetramorph in the visions of Ezekiel and Revelation.