My prior Art posts can be found HERE.
How do we move away from being a civilization that produces art that causes comments like, “my five year old could make this,” back to being one that creates beauty and inspires deep questions? We must reject modernity and embrace tradition. To embrace tradition, we must first learn about it..
Let’s study art history together.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
| Artist | Viktor Vasnetsov |
|---|---|
| Year | 1887 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 72 by 136 centimeters (28 in × 54 in) |
| Location | State Museum of the History of Religion (St Petersburg, Russia) |
There has always been a certain amount of interest in the end of the world – particularly since the time when globalization really took off in the 18th and 19th century, and even moreso after the world fought two world wars in the first half of the 20th century.
Vasnetsov’s painting here is an attempt to depict the symbolic “four horsemen” described in the Bible’s Book of Revelation 6.
6 Then I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and behold, there was a white horse. The one riding on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him. He went out as a conqueror so he might conquer.
3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, fiery red. The one riding on it was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another. He was given a great sword.
5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come!” And behold, I saw a black horse. The one riding on it held a balance scale in his hand. 6 Then I heard something like a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius—but do no harm to the oil and wine!”
7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 8 Behold, I saw a horse, pale greenish gray. The name of the one riding on it was Death, and Sheol was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword and by famine and by plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.
Most scholars believe this language to be symbolic. The painter has transposed the symbolic description of the four horsemen, each with a different color, as the text describes, and in the order described. He also imbues this with symbolic meaning. The detailing of the clothes (or lack thereof) say something about each of the horsemen, as does the expression (or lack their of) on their faces. Perhaps most disturbing of all is that you almost fail to notice the people over whom they are riding. While the painting draws all of our attention to the horsemen, it is also warning us by giving us grey and almost invisible victims.
For a really great review of this painting, including the details, I highly recommend the following video:
