Getty Museum

The Opening of the Sixth Seal: The Great Earthquake

Date

about 1255–1260

Medium

Tempera colors, gold leaf, colored washes, pen and ink

Culture

English

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

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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