Openen van het vijfde en het zesde zegel 1502

Ieronimus Greff von Frankfurt produced this woodcut print, “Opening of the Fifth and Sixth Seal,” in Germany around 1500. The print comes from the Christian Book of Revelation, a text written in crisis that envisions a violent end to the world. Images like this circulated widely in the late 15th century, when many Europeans believed the end times were approaching. Greff’s image vividly captures the terror of the Apocalypse. The print teems with figures: angels, the sun and moon, and the terrified masses. The people below are a mix of different social classes, united by their fear of the end times. This democratization of fear through art, in turn, fueled apocalyptic anxieties and the desire to seek salvation. Understanding the complex social contexts and the circulation of such imagery calls for the use of diverse historical and iconographic resources to gain a clearer understanding of the public role of art during this period.