Being a well-known element of the Biblical mythology, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse often appear in media in different iterations. In Dr. Sally Hickson’s (2019) article, the media used for the article, particularly, Dürer’s pictures, are expected to represent the sheer Biblical terror of the Apocalypse and convey the idea of the universal scale that it will take.
In the first picture, the tremendous, crushing power of the Four Horsemen is expressed accurately, depicting the titular characters, as well as their multiple victims being literally crushed by them. According to Hickson (2019), the simple symbolism in this picture is akin to that one of American cowboy movies, which, along with the imagery, particularly, the portrayal of horses, sets a rather energetic tone and creates a menacing and dynamic atmosphere.
Zooming in on Dürer’s picture, Hickson (2019) emphasizes the unbelievable attention to detail that Dürer had when creating this artwork. Namely, the images are refined to the tiniest details, letting the viewer experience the magnitude of the event depicted in the painting. At the same time, the complexity of the outlines in Dürer’s picture dos not prevent from perceiving the entirety of the image; rather, it allows to consider the painting as a whole and then tart discerning smaller details.
The next frame of the picture makes the viewer appreciate Dürer’ genius even further as the choice of colors and the reasoning behind it becomes obvious. According to Hickson (2019), the decision to remove the color from the painting and transition from the traditional full-color media to a black-and-white one helps to make the art piece even more nuanced and rich in detail. The lie work is a particularly interesting aspect of the art piece in this case since it helps to compensate for the absence of colors and introduce the multi-layered perspective that would have been readily available if the color scheme was established.
The tools that Dürer uses to portray the horror of the situation and convey the true meaning of the Apocalypse as the world-ending also represent an important piece worth studying. Namely, the line work and the contrast between light and shadow in the painting leads to creating some of the most imaginative pictures, which extends to the development for facial expressions in the characters on the painting. Dürer’s “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” incorporates both the Biblical ideas and mythology and the unique aesthetic that helps to reinforce the sense of dread for the catastrophe.
References
Hickson, S. (2019). Dürer, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Khan Academy. Web.