The Opening of the Fifth and Sixth Seals, from "The Apocalypse"

The Opening of the Fifth and Sixth Seals, from "The Apocalypse" is a pivotal print created by Albrecht Dürer in 1498. Executed as a detailed woodcut, this work belongs to Dürer’s revolutionary series of fifteen large-format images illustrating the biblical Book of Revelation. Produced just before the turn of the 16th century, the intense religious fervor and anxieties surrounding the approaching millennium in late 15th-century Germany fueled the widespread popularity and profound cultural impact of this sequence.

The composition masterfully compresses two distinct apocalyptic events into a single, highly dramatic scene. In the lower half, numerous distraught human figures, identifiable as martyrs and souls of the faithful, raise their arms and petition God for vengeance after the opening of the Fifth Seal. Above, angels are visibly struggling against the chaos introduced by the breaking of the Sixth Seal, which unleashes celestial disturbances including a darkening sun, a blood-red moon, and widespread earthquakes that shatter the earth and send the ungodly scrambling for cover.

Dürer’s technical skill elevated the woodcut medium from a rustic illustration technique to an expressive art form capable of capturing complex spatial relationships and emotional depth. The powerful use of dynamic line work and profound contrast between light and shadow defines the terrifying vision of the End Times. This influential print demonstrates Dürer’s command over composition and narrative structure, solidifying his reputation as a leading figure of the Northern Renaissance. The work is housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Because of its age and cultural significance, the original woodcuts often fall within the public domain, allowing high-quality digital reproductions of these seminal Dürer prints to remain accessible for research and appreciation worldwide.