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The Opening of the Sixth Seal: The Great Earthquake

Creator

Unknown All works by this person →More on Getty ULAN

Date: about 1255–1260
Medium: Tempera colors, gold leaf, colored washes, pen and ink
Culture: English
Department: Manuscripts
Institution: Getty Museum
Object ID: 8ce73ebe-3303-43b5-bea3-c4c4d10a1d42

From the Getty Museum record

According to Saint John, when the sixth seal is opened, there is a great earthquake. The sun turns black, the moon becomes red, and the stars fall from the sky. Down on earth, all the people hide from both God and the lamb "for the great day of their wrath is come." In the image, men scurry into caves and holes while a lone king stands resignedly above, holding a scroll featuring the passage from the Apocalypse describing the subsequent events: "And every mountain and the islands were moved out of their places. And the kings and princes of the earth, and the magistrates, and the rich, and the strong, and every servant, and every freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of mountains." (Apocalypse 6: 14-15)

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