The Angel Sounding the Sixth Trumpet
1546/1556
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 29.1 × 21 cm (11 7/16 × 8 1/4 in.) sheet (irreg.): 30.6 × 22.8 cm (12 1/16 × 9 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1946.21.283
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Angel Sounding the Sixth Trumpet* (1546/1556), a striking engraving by Jean Duvet, a pioneering French artist active in the mid-16th century. Duvet, one of the earliest native engravers in France, drew inspiration from Albrecht Dürer's dramatic biblical prints, creating this work as part of his renowned *Apocalypse* series. The title references Revelation 9 in the Bible, where the sixth angel unleashes a horde of fiery, lion-like locusts upon the earth—a vivid symbol of divine judgment and apocalyptic turmoil during the Reformation era, when such imagery resonated deeply with relig...
About the Artist
Jean Duvet · 1485–1570
Jean Duvet (1485–after 1562), a pioneering French goldsmith and engraver from the provincial heartlands of Dijon and Langres, emerged as the first significant printmaker in France. Born to a Dijon goldsmith, he trained in the family trade and rose swiftly, becoming master of the Dijon Goldsmiths' Guild by 1509. Duvet's early career blended goldsmithing with engraving; no specific teachers are docu...