
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Beast with Seven Heads
Description
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.
Dimensions
Plate: 30 × 29 cm (11 13/16 × 11 7/16 in.)
Movement / Period
Accession No
4406
Official Citations
Curatorial Affinity Stream
Continuing the Universe of Jean Duvet French, 1485-after 1561
Renaissance • France • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries
Continuous Discovery