The Babylonian Whore

The Babylonian Whore by Albrecht Dürer, created between 1496 and 1498, is a defining work of early German Renaissance printmaking. Executed as a woodcut, this powerful image belongs to Dürer’s renowned Apocalypse series, a revolutionary sequence of fifteen large-format prints illustrating the Book of Revelation. The sheer technical ambition displayed in these works quickly established Dürer as the preeminent graphic artist in Europe during the transition from the 15th to the 16th century (Period: 1401 to 1500).

The iconography directly references Revelation 17, depicting the Woman of Babylon seated triumphantly upon the scarlet seven-headed beast. She holds aloft a golden cup filled with the abominations of her fornication, symbolizing the corruption of the temporal powers. This imagery resonated profoundly in the highly charged religious and political atmosphere of late medieval Germany, where apocalyptic expectations were widespread. Dürer's innovation was not just in subject matter, but in his technical mastery of the woodcut medium. He employed dense cross-hatching and varied line weight, usually reserved for copper engravings, to create rich textures and dramatic contrasts of light and shadow, transforming what was traditionally a crude medium into a vehicle for complex artistic expression.

The commercial and artistic success of the Apocalypse prints contributed significantly to the global recognition of German art. The dissemination of these high-quality prints throughout Europe demonstrated the viability of graphic art as a major narrative force capable of communicating complex theological concepts to a wide audience. This particular impression of Dürer’s celebrated woodcut is held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art, providing crucial documentation of the artist’s groundbreaking early career. As a major historic work, this piece is frequently studied, and high-resolution reproductions are often available through public domain initiatives.