The Beast with Seven Heads

Prints and Drawings

n.d.

Jean Duvet
French, 1485-after 1561

John’s vision from Revelation 13 pits the Lamb of God against a seven-headed, ten-horned apocalyptic beast of epic proportions. While an angel runs interference to warn the credulous earthly population against worshipping the beast, it is only the true believers in Christ who will survive. Duvet’s dense composition of quivering scales and genuflecting masses breaks open only at the top to reveal the true Christian sacrificial symbol, the Lamb. Bearing the attributes of the evangelist, this mild and just creature is both the apocalypse’s antithesis and antidote.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Jean Duvet
Title: The Beast with Seven Heads
Origin: France
Date: Artist's working dates 1505–1570
Medium: Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions: 300 × 290 mm (plate); 347 × 253 mm (sheet)
Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.
Reference Number: 1956.1054
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