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Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileSt. John kneels in the foreground, his hands clasped in prayer as he gazes up at a divine figure seated upon a rainbow throne amidst thick clouds. The central figure possesses eyes like flames, a double-edged sword emerging from his mouth, and holds seven radiant stars in his outstretched right hand. Surrounding the vision are seven tall, elaborately decorated candlesticks, representing the seven churches of Asia described in the biblical text.
This work belongs to Dürer’s 'Apocalypse' series, a landmark in the history of visionary art that provided a definitive visual vocabulary for Western eschatology. The complex symbolism—the sword of the Word, the planetary arrangement of the stars, and the geometric precision of the candlesticks—bridged late medieval mysticism with the emerging Renaissance interest in prophetic revelation.
AD
Book of Revelation
The literal source for the specific iconography of the seven stars, the seven candlesticks, and the sword of the mouth (Revelation 1:12-16).
Object
Engraving
religious
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC0
https://www.parismuseescollections.paris.fr/fr/petit-palais/oeuvres/l-apocalypse-edition-latine-la-vision-des-sept-chandeliers-bartsch-62#infos-principales
Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
3586 × 4934 px
52214998a7ef094d0d60abe5aa4d458d9ee83d5f
June 26, 2023
March 24, 2026
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 1, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.