The Opening of the 5th and 6th Seals

One of fifteen woodcuts created by Dürer to illustrate the last book of the New Testament, "The Apocalypse," or “The Revelation of St.John the Divine” with Latin text on the verso. In excellent condition.Catalogue reference: Strauss 51; Bartsch 65; Meder 168

“The Opening of the 5th and 6th Seals” is Dürer’s depiction of a scene from the New Testament, from the book of Revelation. Revelation vi: (9) And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw beneath the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they maintained (11) And each of them was given a white robe and it was said to them that they must yet rest a little time until their number be filled with their fellow servants and their brothers who are to be killed as they were. (12) And I saw, when he opened the sixth seal, a great earthquake come to pass. The sun turned black like cloth of mourning woven of hair, and the moon turned red as blood. (13) And the stars of heaven fell unto earth as the fig tree casts its unripe fruits when shaken by a great wind. (14) And the sky shrank upon itself like a scroll curling, and every mountain and island was moved out of place. (15) And the kings of the earth and the great, the commanders, the rich, and the mighty, and all slaves and free men hid themselves in the caves and crevices of the mountains.