City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works School of Arts & Sciences Theses Hunter College Spring 2021 The Last Horseman: Albrecht Dürer’s Horsemen of the Apocalypse Megan L. Crosby CUNY Hunter College How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/721 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] The Last Horseman: Albrecht Dürer’s Horsemen of the Apocalypse Megan Crosby Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Art in Art History, Hunter College The City University of New York 2021 May 6, 2021 Dr. Maria Loh Date Thesis Sponsor May 6, 2021 Dr. Hendrik Dey Date Second Reader Dedication To my Mother, whose support and love makes everything possible To my late Grandparents, Anne and Bruce. May you dance together for eternity. Table of Contents Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………………..i Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………...ii List of Illustrations………………………………………………………………………………..iii Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….1- 7 Chapter 1: Medieval Riders….…………………………………………………………….…..8-26 Chapter 2: Raw Materials……….…..………………………………………………………..27-37 Chapter 3: Death and All His Friends………………………………………………………..38-52 Conclusion: The Health of One’s Soul……………………………………………..………..53-56 Bibliography……………………………………………………..…………………………..57-64 Illustrations………………………………………………………………………………….65-109 i Acknowledgments There are a great many people whom I wish to thank, but I would foremost like to express my deepest gratitude to Maria Loh for her assistance in every step of this process and for her time reading the many drafts of this thesis. Without her guidance and support, this thesis would not have been possible, especially during this unprecedented time. I would like to extend my thanks to Hendrik Dey for his time reading this thesis and his comments, edits, and advice, which were of tremendous help. I would also like to thank the other professors I had the privilege of taking classes with at Hunter, Cynthia Hahn, Joachim Pissarro, Susanna Cole, Wen-Shing Chou, Harper Montgomery, and Nebahat Avcioglu. I also wish to thank my professors at Kean University, especially Marguerite Mayhall, Jacquelyn Tuerk-Stonberg, Lewis Kachur, and Christopher Bellitto, among many others whose teaching continue to influence me. In addition, I would like to recognize and offer sincerest gratitude to my Mother and Grandparents for their many sacrifices and support that made this graduate degree possible. I would also like to thank the rest of my family for their continued support. I would also like to extended my deepest thanks to Daniel Hall for his unweaving love, patience, and support. I am very grateful to my thesis support group, Charlotte Svetkey, Julie Treumann, and Kaitlin Arbusto, for helping me through this process. I would also like to thank to the countless others who have supported me through writing this thesis. Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank Albrecht Dürer for sharing his art and writings with the world and continuing to inspire me. ii List of Illustrations 1. Albrecht Dürer, Dream Vision, German, 1525, Watercolor on paper, Kunst Historisches Museum Wein 2. Albrecht Dürer, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from The Apocalypse, German, 1498, Woodcut, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 3. Albrecht Dürer, St. John before Christ and the Elders from The Apocalypse, German, 1498, Woodcut, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 4. The Getty Apocalypse, The First Horseman, English, around 1255 – 1260, Tempera colors, gold leaf, colored washes, pen and ink on parchment, The Getty Museum 5. The Getty Apocalypse, The Second Horseman, English, around 1255 – 1260, Tempera colors, gold leaf, colored washes, pen and ink on parchment, The Getty Museum 6. The Getty Apocalypse, The Third Horseman, English, around 1255 – 1260, Tempera colors, gold leaf, colored washes, pen and ink on parchment, The Getty Museum 7. The Getty Apocalypse, The Fourth Horseman, English, around 1255 – 1260, Tempera colors, gold leaf, colored washes, pen and ink on parchment, The Getty Museum 8. The Cloisters Apocalypse, The First Horseman, French, 1330, Tempera, gold, silver, and ink on parchment, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 9. The Cloisters Apocalypse, The Second Horseman, French, 1330, Tempera, gold, silver, and ink on parchment, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 10. The Cloisters Apocalypse, The Third Horseman, French, 1330, Tempera, gold, silver, and ink on parchment, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 11. The Cloisters Apocalypse, The Fourth Horseman, French, 1330, Tempera, gold, silver, and ink on parchment, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 12. The Cloisters Apocalypse, Opening the Fifth Seal: The Martyrs, French, 1330, Tempera, gold, silver, and ink on parchment, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 13. The Cloisters Apocalypse, Opening the Sixth Seal: Signs on Earth and in Heaven, French, 1330, Tempera, gold, silver, and ink on parchment, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 14. Albrecht Dürer, Opening the Fifth and Sixth Seals from The Apocalypse, German, 1498, Woodcut, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 15. Rochefoucauld Grail, created in Flanders or Artois, 1315 and 1323, Illumination, Sotheby’s 16. Angers Apocalypse Tapestry, The First Horseman, French, 1370s, Tapestry, Musée de la Tapisserie, Château d'Angers 17. Angers Apocalypse Tapestry, The Third Horseman, French, 1370s, Tapestry, Musée de la Tapisserie, Château d'Angers 18. Angers Apocalypse Tapestry, The Fourth Horseman, French, 1370s, Tapestry, Musée de la Tapisserie, Château d'Angers 19. Exterior, Château d'Angers, Angers, France, commissioned 1230, Google 20. Bernard Renoux, Tapestries Room, Château d'Angers, Angers France, Château d’Angers website (http://www.chateau-angers.fr/en/Explore/History-of-the-monument) 21. Master of the Burkhardt Wildt Apocalypse, Singing of the New Song, French, Late 13th century, Christies 22. Master of the Burkhardt Wildt Apocalypse, The Blessed Before the Throne of God, French, Late 13th century, Christies 23. Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait, German, 1498, Oil on Panel, Prado Museum iii 24. Albrehct Dürer, Self Portrait, German, 1500, Oil Panel, Alte Pinakothek, Munich 25. Albrecht Dürer, Death and the Lansquenet, German, 1510, Woodcut, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 26. Albrecht Dürer, Portrait of a Peasant Woman, German, 1505, Pen and brown ink and brown wash, © The Trustees of the British Museum 27. Albrecht Dürer, Close Up of the Horsemen of Death from The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from The Apocalypse, German, 1498, Woodcut, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 28. Albrecht Dürer, Saint Jerome, German, about 1496, Oil on Pearwood, The National Gallery London 29. Anton Koberger, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, German, 1483, Woodcut, Library of Congress 30. Anton Koberger, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Page, German, 1483, Library of Congress 31. Albrecht Dürer, Close Up of St. John from St. John before Christ and the Elders from The Apocalypse, German, 1498, Woodcut, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 32. Lucas Cranach the Elder, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, German, 1522, Woodcut, Emory College 33. Lucas Cranach the Elder, St. John before God and the Elders, German, 1522, Woodcut, Emory College 34. Attributed to Albrecht Dürer, Portrait of Barbara Dürer (neé Holper), German, 1490, Oil on Fir Wood, Germanisches Naional Museum 35. Albrecht Dürer, Barbara Dürer, German, 1514, Charcoal Sketch, Kupferstichkabinett Berlin 36. Albrecht Dürer, Albrecht Dürer the Elder with a Rosary, German, 1490, Oil on softwood panel, Uffizi Gallery 37. Albrecht Dürer, The Ravisher, German, 1495, Engraving, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 38. Albrecht Dürer, Coat of Arms with Skull, German, 1503, Engraving, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 39. Albrecht Dürer, The Promenade, German, 1498, Engraving, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 40. Albrecht Dürer, Crowned Death on a Horse, German, 1505, Charcoal sketch, British Museum 41. Albrecht Dürer, Knight Death and the Devil, German, 1513, Engraving, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 42. Hans Baldung Grein, Death and the Maiden, German, 1517, Tempera on Limewood, Kunstmuseum Basel 43. Housebook Master, Young Man and Death, Possibly German, around 1485, drypoint, Wikipedia 44. Hans Baldung Grein, Seven Horses, German, 1534, Woodcut, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 45. Hans Baldung Grein, Seven Horses, German, 1534, Woodcut, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 46. Hans Baldung Grein, Death Overtaking a Knight, 1510-1512, Woodcut, Uffizi Florence iv Introduction Albrecht Dürer (c.1471-1528) documented an apocalyptic dream he had: In the night between Wednesday and Thursday after Whitsunday (30, 31 May, 1525) I saw this appearance in my sleep-how many great waters fell from heaven. The first struck the earth about 4 miles away from me with terrific force and tremendous noise, and it broke up and drowned the whole land. I was so sore afraid that I awoke from it. Then the other waters fell and as they fell they were very powerful and there were many of them, some further away, some nearer. And they came down from so great a height that they all seemed to fall with equal slowness. But when the first water that touched the earth had very nearly reached it, it fell with such swiftness, with wind roaring, and I was sore [sic] afraid that when I awoke my whole body trembled and for a long while I could not recover myself. So when I arose in the morning I painted it above here as I saw it. God turn all things to the best.1 Dürer’s nightmare (Figure 1), in some ways, echoes the apocalyptic end in the Book of Revelation, which states that the end of the world will come with thunder, earthquakes, and other earthly environmental catastrophes. The Book of Revelation was not unfamiliar to the artist. In 1498, the twenty-seven-year-old Albrecht Dürer published in Nuremberg a book of fifteen woodcuts illustrating the events narrated in this biblical text. The Book of Revelation is a profoundly complex work that borders on the nonsensical to the non-believer.