The Beast with Two Horns like a Lamb

probably c. 1496/1498

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

The image shows a scene of mythical creatures and celestial figures. A divine or royal figure is seated on a throne surrounded by winged angels amidst clouds. Below, a fearsome beast with multiple heads and crowns looms over a congregation of figures. Human figures in regal and religious attire huddle together, gazing at the mystical beings around them. The drawing is detailed, capturing textures and intricate linework and shading.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to block): 38.8 × 28.1 cm (15 1/4 × 11 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.3565

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 175

  • Series Title

    The Apocalypse

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b and Lugt 1932d), 1929; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1965

  • Selected 15th Century Prints from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery of Art, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 1965, no. 35.

1967

  • Master Prints on Biblical Themes, Sloan Galleries at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, 1967, no cat.

1971

  • Dürer in America: His Graphic Work, NGA, 1971, no. 103, repro.

  • Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century Prints from the Rosenwald Collection, Saint John's College, Santa Fe, NM, 1971, no catalogue.

  • Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-Century Prints from the Rosenwald Collection, Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia, Fredericksburg, VA, 1971, no. 25, repro.

1973

  • The Apocalypse, University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, 1973, no. 16.

Bibliography

1932

  • Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog; ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustände, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen. Vienna: Verlag Gilhofer und Ranschburg, 1932. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.

2001

  • Schoch, Rainer, Mattihas Mende, and Anna Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk. Munich, 2001: vol. 2: no. 123.

Inscriptions

verso, top center, in brown ink: IILX; bottom left, in graphite by a later hand: 64303

Watermarks

imperial orb (Meder 53)

Wikidata ID

Q18338546

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