The Beast with Seven Heads
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Curatorial Overview

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.

Object Details

DimensionsPlate: 30 × 29 cm (11 13/16 × 11 7/16 in.)
Credit LineBequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.
Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of Jean Duvet French, 1485-after 1561

Renaissance • France • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries