The Beast with Seven Heads and the Beast with Lamb's Horns

The Beast with Seven Heads and the Beast with Lamb's Horns is a seminal woodcut created by Albrecht Dürer between 1496 and 1498. This powerful image belongs to his revolutionary series illustrating the Apocalypse (the Book of Revelation), which marked a pivotal moment in the history of German printmaking by elevating the woodcut medium to the status of high art.

Dürer masterfully utilized the often-restrictive nature of the woodcut, transforming it into a vehicle for dramatic artistic expression. The artist employs a high horizon line to encompass the terrifying vision described in Chapter 17 of Revelation: the scarlet woman, or Babylon the Great, riding the seven-headed beast, which is simultaneously worshipped by the surrounding populace. In the foreground, the ominous Beast with Lamb’s Horns (the False Prophet) compels the Earth’s inhabitants toward damnation.

Dürer’s intricate cross-hatching and command of line create intense textures and deep shadows, lending the composition a terrifying sense of immediacy rarely achieved in the relief printing process before this time. Produced in Nuremberg, this work reflects the profound religious anxieties prevalent in late fifteenth-century Germany as the millennium approached. The immediate success of the Apocalypse series elevated Dürer's international reputation and demonstrated the commercial viability of high-quality prints as a means of mass communication.

This specific impression of the pivotal work is held in the comprehensive collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Because of its age and importance, the original artwork resides within the public domain, allowing its powerful imagery and the technical innovation of this print series to be continually studied and appreciated globally.