Getty Museum

The Opening of the First Seal: The First Horseman

Date

about 1255–1260

Medium

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

Culture

English

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

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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