The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse (Bamberg Apocalypse)

This illumination shows a rider dressed in a dark blue, long-sleeved tunic with decorative trim, seated on a light brown horse. The rider has short dark hair and a serious expression, looking toward the right. To the right of the horse, a smaller, dark-colored quadruped with a halo stands, its front hooves resting on a rectangular object. The background is a flat, dark brown, and the horse walks upon a thin, grey horizontal band. The style is characterized by rigid, defined outlines and simplified, expressive forms common to Ottonian manuscript illumination.

This image is part of the Bamberg Apocalypse, an Ottonian manuscript produced at the Reichenau Abbey, which contains one of the most famous medieval cycles of illustrations for the Book of Revelation.