"There appeared a great dragon..." 

Bernard Reder made this print, “There appeared a great dragon…”, using etching techniques to present a passage from the Book of Revelation. The French text, rendered in an elegant script, describes a dragon with multiple heads and horns, a beast rising from the sea, and angels bringing plagues upon the earth. These are potent symbols of divine judgment, themes that have resonated through centuries of religious and political upheaval. Reder, creating this image in the mid-20th century, was surely aware of these historical echoes. The choice of French is interesting. Was it a personal reflection by Reder, a commentary on the role of language in shaping belief, or a nod to specific artistic or theological traditions? To explore these questions, we might look at the history of biblical illustration, the cultural politics of language, and Reder's own biography, searching for the social and institutional contexts that shaped his artistic vision. Art history helps us to see artworks like this as more than just images: they’re complex products of their time.