The beast with the seven heads and the beast with the lamb's horns

Dürer’s first great series of woodcuts, The Apocalypse, illustrate the prophetic visions discussed by St John the Divine in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. First published in 1498, this series assumed immediate significance in light of contemporary fears that the end of the world would occur in the year 1500.   

Throughout his text St John refers to a dragon and several monstrous beasts – each having seven heads and ten horns – including the beast that came out of the sea, which ’resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion’ (Revelation 13:2). Here, in plate 12, Dürer used St John’s description as a starting point to imagine this beast with seven different animal-like heads, some resembling known species such as the ostrich, lion and snake, while others were purely fantasy.  

Also seen in this image is a second beast, this one emerging from the earth, which had ’two horns like a lamb’s, but spoke like a dragon’. 

Julie Robinson, Senior Curator, Prints, Drawings & Photographs