St. John before God and the Elders, from The Apocalypse

St. John before God and the Elders, from The Apocalypse is a powerful early print by Albrecht Dürer German, 1471-1528, created between 1496 and 1498. This composition, executed as a woodcut in black on tan laid paper, is one of the fifteen groundbreaking illustrations Dürer produced for his influential series, The Apocalypse (or Apocalipsis cum figuris). Produced at the height of the Northern Renaissance, the series revolutionized book illustration and established Dürer as the preeminent graphic artist in Germany.

The scene captures St. John kneeling in awe before the divine assembly. Dürer depicts the dramatic vision described in Revelation 4, showcasing God enthroned, surrounded by the twenty-four Elders who bow in reverence. Although rendered through the challenging medium of woodcut, Dürer achieves a remarkable depth and textural complexity. His meticulous use of cross-hatching and varied line weight transforms the traditionally stark medium, allowing for subtleties of light and shadow that give the figures monumental presence.

This particular print demonstrates the young Dürer’s ambition to redefine religious narrative art. The clarity and dramatic intensity of St. John before God and the Elders ensured the widespread dissemination of the artist’s work across Europe, cementing his influence on subsequent generations of printmakers. This masterwork of German graphic arts is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, where it serves as a crucial example of late 15th-century prints.