Albrecht Dürer | The Beast with the Seven Heads and the Beast with Lamb's Horns | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2024)

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Albrecht Dürer German

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In book thirteen of Revelation, John describes two beasts: one that emerges from the sea and has seven heads, and another that springs from the earth and empowers the bigger beast. The seven-headed beast with its ten crowns has been interpreted as the demonic and powerful authority of the state. As it says in Revelation, "They worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him . . . And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven."

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Albrecht Dürer | The Beast with the Seven Heads and the Beast with Lamb's Horns | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (4)

Artwork Details

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

Artist: Albrecht Dürer (German, Nuremberg 1471–1528 Nuremberg)

Date: 1511

Medium: Woodcut

Dimensions: sheet: 15 1/8 x 11 in. (38.4 x 27.9 cm)

Classification: Prints

Credit Line: Gift of Junius Spencer Morgan, 1919

Accession Number: 19.73.215

Learn more about this artwork

Timeline of Art History

Essay

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)

Essay

Anselm Kiefer (born 1945)

Essay

Arms and Armor - Common Misconceptions and Frequently Asked Questions

Essay

Europe and the Age of Exploration

Essay

Jan Gossart (ca. 1478-1532) and His Circle

Essay

Portraiture in Renaissance and Baroque Europe

Essay

Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669): Prints

Essay

The Decoration of Arms and Armor

Essay

The Printed Image in the West: History and Techniques

Essay

The Rediscovery of Classical Antiquity

Essay

The Reformation

Chronology

Central Europe (including Germany), 1400-1600 A.D.

Related Artworks

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  • By Albrecht Dürer
  • Drawings and Prints
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  • From A.D. 1400–1600

Das Narrenschyff

Albrecht Dürer (German, Nuremberg 1471–1528 Nuremberg)

1495

Underweysung der Messung/ mit dem Zirckel und richtscheyt

Albrecht Dürer (German, Nuremberg 1471–1528 Nuremberg)

1525

Opera Alberti Dureri. Das ist / Alle Bücher des weitberühmbten... .cont.: Underweysung der messung [. . .] vier Bücher von menschlicher Proportion; Etliche underricht /zu befestigung// der Stett/ Schloss und flecken

Albrecht Dürer (German, Nuremberg 1471–1528 Nuremberg)

1603–4

Di Alberto Durero Pittore, e Geometra. . .della Simmetria dei Corpi Humani, Libri Quattro Nuouamente Tradotti dalla Lingua Latina nella Italiana

Albrecht Dürer (German, Nuremberg 1471–1528 Nuremberg)

1591

The Flight into Egypt, from The Life of the Virgin, from the Latin Edition

Albrecht Dürer (German, Nuremberg 1471–1528 Nuremberg)

1511

How Woodcuts are Made

An illustrated explainer.

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Drawings and Prints at The Met

The Met's collection of drawings and prints—one of the most comprehensive and distinguished of its kind in the world—began with a gift of 670 works from Cornelius Vanderbilt, a Museum trustee, in 1880.

Albrecht Dürer | The Beast with the Seven Heads and the Beast with Lamb's Horns | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2024)

FAQs

What is the meaning of the seven heads of the beast? ›

The scarlet beast is shown being ridden by a harlot who "reigns over the kings of the earth", (Revelation 17:18) whereas the beast of the sea is not described as being ridden, and is given "power and great authority." The seven heads represent both seven mountains and seven kings, and the ten horns are ten kings who ...

What was Albrecht Dürer's famous quote? ›

Albrecht Durer's famous quote, "There is beauty in imperfection," encapsulates a profound truth about the nature of art and the world around us. In a society that often strives for flawless perfection, Durer reminds us that true beauty lies in the unique and imperfect aspects of life.

What was Albrecht Dürer famous for? ›

Why is Albrecht Dürer so famous? Albrecht Dürer was a painter, printmaker, and writer generally regarded as the greatest German Renaissance artist. His paintings and engravings show the Northern interest in detail and Renaissance efforts to represent the bodies of humans and animals accurately.

Where is Albrecht Dürer's artwork? ›

Having achieved considerable fame during his lifetime, the artist's work went on to profoundly influence painters such as Raphael, Titian, and Lucas van Leyden. Today, Dürer's works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the Hermitage Museum in St.

What does 666 mean in the Bible? ›

Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six." Revelation 13:18 states that if one is wise and has an understanding to count the number of the beast, which is also the number of a man, the number comes to 666.

How did Albrecht Dürer change the world? ›

Few artists have equaled Dürer's ability to capture minute differences in texture, surface, and light or rivaled his innovative approach to subject matter. His technical mastery transformed printmaking into an art form equal to that of painting and sculpture.

What was Albrecht Dürer's religion? ›

The artist's identification as an Augustinian Catholic, his interest in Italian humanism, and the influence of Venetian Renaissance art played crucial roles in the iconography and style of Dürer's woodcut prints. The devotional known as the Way of the Cross, or Stations of the Cross, also impacted his subject matter.

Why is Albrecht important? ›

Summary of Albrecht Dürer

He was, and remains, the most famous artist of the Northern Renaissance who successfully integrated an elaborately-detailed Northern style with Italian Renaissance's ideals of balance, coherence, and monumentality.

Did Albrecht Dürer meet Leonardo da Vinci? ›

Answer and Explanation: While Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Durer lived in Europe at roughly the same time, there is no evidence that the two Renaissance masters ever met.

Why was Albrecht Dürer called the German Leonardo? ›

Albrecht Durer is sometimes called the "German Leonardo" because he was a "Renaissance Man" and mastered many types of art and scholarship. Durer is often remembered as a talented creator of woodcut prints. However, Durer was also a painter, drawer, and philosopher.

How was Albrecht Dürer educated? ›

As a young boy Dürer was educated at the Lateinschule in St Lorenz and he also worked in his father's workshop learning the trade of a goldsmith and jeweller. By the age of 13 he was already a skilled painter as seen from a self portrait which he painted at that time.

What is the 7 beast of the Bible? ›

In book thirteen of Revelation, John describes two beasts: one that emerges from the sea and has seven heads, and another that springs from the earth and empowers the bigger beast. The seven-headed beast with its ten crowns has been interpreted as the demonic and powerful authority of the state.

What do the beasts in Daniel 7 represent? ›

An angelic guide interprets the beasts as kingdoms and kings, the last of whom will make war on the "holy ones" of God, but they will be destroyed and the "holy ones" will be given eternal dominion and power.

What do heads symbolize in the Bible? ›

The head is the topmost part of the body, where symbols of power, authority, and honor were displayed. Kings and priests were anointed on their heads, and this is where their crowns were placed ( 1 Sam 10:1 ; 2 Sam 1:10 ; 2 Kings 9:3 ; Psalm 21:3 ). Adam was crowned with glory and honor ( Psalm 8:5 ).

What does the seven-headed snake represent? ›

A seven-headed serpent or "naga" forms a stone balustrade beside a walkway leading into a building at Angkor Wat. The naga, literally "serpent" in Sanskrit, represents power, water, and fertility in many Hindu texts.

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