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.