Title Plate, Icones Revelationum; Saint John on Patmos; The Vision of the Seven Candlesticks; The Twenty-four Elders with Harps around the Throne of Godl The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse before 1585

Curator: This is a sheet of engravings by Adriaen Collaert, titled "Title Plate, Icones Revelationum," housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Oh, my! It feels like looking into someone's meticulously kept cabinet of curiosities, all these tiny worlds contained on one page! Curator: The composition certainly invites that sense of discovery. We see five separate scenes, each framed and containing intricate details rendered through the engraving technique. Collaert employs a dense network of lines to create form and shadow. Editor: It's more than just technique, though, isn't it? The miniature scale somehow amplifies the grand themes of revelation and apocalypse. There's a delicate, almost precious quality to the imagery, despite the violent subject matter! Curator: Indeed, the juxtaposition is quite potent. The formal structure provides a framework for interpreting these complex narratives. Each vignette presents a distinct visual argument. Editor: It is wild to imagine, isn't it? The end of days looking like this. Curator: A thought to linger on.