Plaquette
1914 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This plaquette, one of four plaquettes (127 to 130-1920) representing the riders of the Apocalypse, was made by Theodor von Gosen in Germany, 1914. The Apocalypse was already a subject widespread in European art in about 1900, and was common in German expressionist art by 1914. One of the sources here is probably Dürer's engraving of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The form of the inscription of the reverse is based on those seen on German Renaissance medals. The rider in this plaquette represents the scourages of human kind: war, death, famine, and destruction.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Bronze |
Brief description | Plaquette, fourth horseman of Apocalypse/inscrp; Bronze German 1914. T.Gosen. |
Physical description | Obv., a skeleton carrying a scourge in his left hand, and an unsheathed sword balanced on the right shoulder, riding an emaciated horse. Two grotesque figures with animal heads, and an owl behind. Below in the background, a deserted battlefield and a town in ruins is shown. Rev., a legend. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions |
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Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This plaquette, one of four plaquettes (127 to 130-1920) representing the riders of the Apocalypse, was made by Theodor von Gosen in Germany, 1914. The Apocalypse was already a subject widespread in European art in about 1900, and was common in German expressionist art by 1914. One of the sources here is probably Dürer's engraving of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The form of the inscription of the reverse is based on those seen on German Renaissance medals. The rider in this plaquette represents the scourages of human kind: war, death, famine, and destruction. |
Bibliographic reference | Gullen, Lucy, Fisher, Wendy and Nobert Jopek. [Exhibition handlist] 'One by One': European Commemorative Medals of the Great War 1914-1918. Victoria and London: Albert Museum, 1998. p. 30. Handlist of exhibition held Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1998-1999. no. 5 |
Collection | |
Accession number | A.130-1920 |
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Record created | June 24, 2009 |
Record URL |
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