Picturing the apocalypse : the book of Revelation in the arts over two millennia

333 Pages·2015·18.77 MB·english

by  O'Hear

PICTURING THE APOCALYPSE

PICTURING
THE
APOCALYPSE
THE BOOK OF REVELATION
IN THE ARTS OVER TWO
MILLENNIA
NATASHA O’HEAR
and
ANTHONY O’HEAR
1
3
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For Zac and Freddie, the next generation

Acknowledgements
Picturing the Apocalypse has as its starting point the work done by one of us in
Contrasting Images of the Book of Revelation in Late Medieval and Early Modern
Art (Oxford University Press, 2011). To that extent the debts of thanks and
gratitude offered there spill over into this book too.
However this is a completely new book, different in scope and approach,
and written by two authors rather than one, both of whom have played
a full part in the writing of the whole. So for Picturing the Apocalypse, we
would like to thank David Reynolds for his help with presenting and devel-
oping the original idea. Then, apart from the many authorities on Revelation
we have drawn on (and some of whom one of us has been taught by), we
would like to single out Ian Boxall for his responses to particular questions
of interpretation we have had at various points. Particular thanks are also
due to Chris Rowland and Sue Gillingham who both read and commented
on earlier drafts of the book and remained supportive throughout. Three
anonymous readers for the Oxford University Press also gave us invaluable
help on matters of content, style and approach. Lizzie Robottom at Oxford
University Press commissioned the book and was our original editor, after
which she was ably succeeded by Karen Raith, Aimee Wright, and Caroline
Hawley.
Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati gave us some very helpful advice on contemporary
apocalyptic culture, particularly films. Bryan Appleyard and Alex Pumfrey
also helped us with references to contemporary culture, while Ian McEwan
and Roger Scruton greatly helped us in refining our attitude to Revelation
by getting us to face up to, and in part to respond to, its dark side. Ruth
Padel’s interest and quiet encouragement during this time of struggle, so to
speak, was invaluable, as was David Matthews, who also introduced us to
Vaughan Williams’ Sancta Civitas. Phillida Gili alerted us to the breadth of the
Spanish Beatus Apocalypse tradition. At a very late stage we were fortunate
enough to speak to James MacMillan about his musical journeys in Revelation.
Working with the artist Michael Takeo-Magruder on his exhibition De/
Coding the Apocalypse brought a new dimension to our thinking.
viii acknowledgements
There are 120 illustrations in the text, and we have received help from
many individuals and institutions in sourcing these and obtaining permis-
sions. To all who have helped here, we would like to record our gratitude.
We cannot list everyone here, but for particular help we would like to men-
tion first the artists Gordon Cheung, Kip Gresham, and Siku, who were
all most generous in allowing us to reproduce their work. Marie-Jose
Friedlander was most helpful in discussing Revelation images from Ethiopia,
and in allowing us to reproduce one of her lovely photographs. Nomi Rowe
helped us in tracking down the image of Cecil Collins’ Angel of the Apocalypse,
and Clive Hicks, the photographer, sought out his photograph for us.
Jonathan Robe helped us with the James Chadderton image, and we would
like to thank them both. Cheryl Sukut from Tyndale House Publishers went
to a great amount of trouble to supply us with the Left Behind image, while
Barbara Bernard from the marvellous National Gallery of Art in Washington
went way beyond any call of duty in finding for us a photograph of Max
Beckmann’s lithograph ‘And God shall wipe away all tears . . .’. It was extremely
difficult to track down the image we wanted from Frans Masereel’s Apocalypse
series, but, following help from Pauline Bonnard of DACS, Peter Riede,
President of the Frans Masereel Stiftung in Saarbrucken came to the rescue
just in time. Michael Stone from the Chicano Studies Research Center,
UCLA, put us in touch with Yolanda Lopez, while Patrick Rogers from
the Rosenbach of the Free Library in Philadelphia was most helpful with
Blake’s The Number of the Beast is 666, as was Martin Townsend, editor of the
Sunday Express, over the Bunbury cartoon. We are also grateful to Michèle
Brezel of the Musée Virtuel de Protestantisme and to the Chapter of York
and York Glaziers Trust for freely supplying images. The Master and Fellows
of Trinity College Cambridge were very generous and we would also like
to thank John Moelwyn-Hughes for helping us navigate the Bridgeman
Art Library.
Finally, we would like to thank our constant readers, critics, and supporters
Philippe Bonavero, Patricia O’Hear, Jacob O’Hear, and Thea O’Hear (who
also helped with the Index).
Contents
List of Illustrations xi
List of Plates xvii
List of Tables xxi
Introduction: Revelation: Meanings and Interpretations 1
1. T he Angel of the Apocalypse: John’s Journey and his
Angelic Guides 38
2. The Lamb 52
3. The Four Horsemen 70
4. The Seven Seals: Angelic Destruction 93
5. The Woman Clothed with the Sun 111
6. The Satanic Trinity 131
7. The Whore of Babylon 155
8. Armageddon, the Millennium, and the Last Judgement 176
9. The New Jerusalem 212
10. T he Apocalypse in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries:
A Survey of Different Approaches to Revelation in the
Arts and Popular Culture 235
Revelation: Artistic Reception and Relevance 284
Notes 295
Glossary 309
Suggestions for Further Reading 313
Bibliography 315
Index 323