Apocalypse Leaf Fragment: The Dragon Waging War

ca. 1295

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About the Artwork

The last book of the New Testament, The Revelation of Saint John the Divine (often called “the Apocalypse”), describes the attempts of Satan to take over the world and the ultimate victory of Christ. On the front of this half-sheet a seven-headed dragon, a temporary incarnation of Satan, attacks the offspring of the woman (variously interpreted as Christians in their relationship to Jews, the Virgin Mary, and/or the larger Christian community). On the back, the Dragon and Beast, originally symbolizing Roman emperors and their heathen imperial cult, join forces against the Christian Church. The popularity of this text and its illustrations in the Middle Ages perhaps reflects both general anxiety in an age of unrest and an attraction to the fantastic.

Title Apocalypse Leaf Fragment: The Dragon Waging War

Artwork Date ca. 1295

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. French

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Tempera on parchment

Dimensions Sheet: 4 1/8 × 5 3/4 inches (10.5 × 14.6 cm)

Classification Manuscripts

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Founders Society Purchase with funds from Founders Junior Council and the Mr. and Mrs. Walter B. Ford II Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 1983.20.A

Markings

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Provenance

Daniel Burckhardt-Wildt (Basel, Switzerland);
until 1983, descendents of Daniel Burckhardt-Wildt;
1983-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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Published References

De Winter, Patrick M. "Visions of the Apocalypse in Medieval England and France." Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 70, no. 10 (December 1983): 399, p. 407 (fig. 20).

Kleinbauer, W., ed. "Recent Major Acquisitions of Medieval Art by American Museums: Number Five." Gesta 22, no. 2 (1983): 171-175, (fig. 9) (ill.).

Morgan, Nigel. "The Burckhardt-Wildt Apocalypse." Art at Auction: The Year at Sotheby's, 1982/83. London, 1983, pp. 168-169 (fig. 11).

Single Leaves and Miniatures. Sales cat., Sotheby's. London, April 25, 1983, lot 52.

Henderson, George. "The Manuscript Model of the Angers 'Apocalypse' Tapestries." Burlington Magazine 127, 985 (April 1985): 209-218.

Emerson, R.K. and S. Lewis. "Census and Bibliography of Medieval Manuscripts Containing Apocalypse Illustrations, ca. 800-1500, II." Traditio 41 (1985): 370-409, nos. 38-117.

Caviness, M.H. "A Man with a Dragon from one of the Tribune Osculi of Mantes." Gesta 26, no. 1 (1986): p. 129 (fig. 3).

"Family Art Game," Detroit Free Press, May 18, 1986, p. 23 (ill.). [DIA Advertising Supplement].

Lewis, S. "The Apocalypse of Isabella of France: Paris, Bibl. Nat. MS Fr. 13096." Art Bulletin 72 (1990): 224-260.

Senfelder, Jens. “Fachnotizen: Armbrustschütze in der Apokalypse.” Jahrblatt der Interessengemeinshaft Historische Armbrust (2023): cover, p. 94 (ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

French, Apocalypse Leaf Fragment: The Dragon Waging War, ca. 1295, tempera on parchment. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase with funds from Founders Junior Council and the Mr. and Mrs. Walter B. Ford II Fund, 1983.20.A.