Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon, from The Apocalypse
1498
Medium
Woodcut
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Felix M. Warburg, 1940
Accession Number
40.139.6(12)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon a dramatic woodcut from Albrecht Dürer's seminal *Apocalypse* series, created in 1498. This print captures the biblical clash from the Book of Revelation, where archangel Michael, armed with bow and arrow, triumphs over the fiery dragon symbolizing Satan. Dürer, a master of the Northern Renaissance, infused the scene with intense energy—Michael poised mid-air, dragon writhing below—drawing viewers into the cosmic battle of good versus evil. Dürer'sApocalypse* series, published amid late medieval anxieties over plagues, wars, and the approaching millen...
About the Artist
Albrecht Dürer · 1471–1528
Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) stands as the preeminent figure of the Northern Renaissance and arguably the most influential artist in the history of printmaking. Born in Nuremberg on May 21, 1471, and dying in the same city on April 6, 1528, Dürer revolutionized the status of the artist in Northern Europe, transforming printmaking from a commercial craft into an independent fine art and establishing ...