Saint John Devouring the Book, from "The Apocalypse"

Saint John Devouring the Book, from "The Apocalypse" by Albrecht Dürer, created in 1498, is a seminal work of Late Gothic and early Northern Renaissance printmaking. This powerful image is one plate from Dürer’s famous fifteen-print series illustrating the Book of Revelation, a project that established him as the preeminent graphic artist in Europe. Executed as a woodcut, the piece showcases Dürer’s technical mastery in translating complex, deeply detailed compositions into the relief medium, significantly expanding the expressive capabilities of the woodblock technique.

The scene depicts a core episode from the biblical narrative of the Apocalypse, specifically Revelation 10:9-10. The Evangelist Saint John kneels before a gigantic, cloaked angel who presents him with a small scroll—the book of prophecy—which he must consume. Dürer focuses on the moment of consumption, visually emphasizing the overwhelming scale of the celestial messenger compared to the mortal figure of Saint John the Baptist. The artist uses dense, energetic lines and sharp tonal contrasts to convey the spiritual drama inherent in the subject matter.

Produced just before the turn of the century, Dürer’s Apocalypse series was groundbreaking in its ambitious scale and unified dramatic vision, profoundly influencing the future of religious illustration and printed art. The widespread availability of these woodcut prints cemented the artist’s international reputation. This definitive impression of the work resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it serves as a key example of Renaissance draftsmanship and the flourishing trade of high-quality prints.