Four Avenging Angels, from the Apocalypse series

Description

Four Avenging Angels, from the Apocalypse series, is a woodcut by Albrecht Dürer dated 1497–98. The scene brings the threat of divine judgment into a crowded encounter between heavenly figures and the human world. Overlapping bodies, weapons and sweeping drapery give the composition an urgent, unsettled rhythm.

Dürer balances the turmoil below with a heavenly gathering above. Dense hatching deepens the shadows around figures and clouds, while lighter passages separate faces, garments and gestures. The eye moves between these layers rather than settling on a single isolated figure. Four Avenging Angels belongs to Dürer’s Apocalypse cycle, a series that demonstrates his ability to turn religious narrative into powerful visual drama. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds the example associated with this catalog record.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Dürer collection.