The Vision of the Seven Candlesticks, from The Apocalypse 1498

Albrecht Durer made this woodcut, “The Vision of the Seven Candlesticks,” around 1498, as part of his series on the Apocalypse. The image is achieved through painstaking labor; the artist would have used a range of specialized tools to cut away at the block, leaving only the lines to be printed in relief. Look closely at the density of those lines. Notice how Durer creates a sense of volume and shadow through hatching and cross-hatching. The process is especially effective here, given that the Book of Revelation, from which the image is derived, is all about dramatic contrasts: light and darkness, good and evil. The very texture of the wood contributes to the overall effect, giving the image a tactile quality that aligns it with craft traditions. Yet, prints like this one were also at the cutting edge of technology. Durer was acutely aware of the print’s power as a medium to disseminate ideas, and indeed, to make him famous. He was one of the first artists to truly grasp the potential of mechanical reproduction and the art market that came along with it.