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The Opening of the First Seal: The First Horseman

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: bdbac9f4-ce01-4644-820f-fb4fa8ca3572

From the Getty Museum record

The opening of the first four seals of the book reveals to Saint John the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. The horsemen are traditionally associated with the four major afflictions of humankind: war, civil strife, famine, and death. The devastation they inflict is seen as a prelude to the end of the world. When the lamb opens the first seal on the book, the living creature with the face like a man, shown here emerging from a cloud, takes Saint John by the wrist, urging him forward to see the first horseman who represents war. "And I saw: and behold a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering in order that he might conquer." (Apocalypse 6:2)

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