Song of Praise in Heaven over the Fall of the Whore of Babylon; The Wedding of the Lamb from an Apocalypse block book, 2nd edition

Art Historical Context

This vibrant woodcut from a rare Netherlandish *Apocalypse* block book, circa 1440–1450, captures two dramatic scenes from the Book of Revelation a heavenly chorus praising the fall of the Whore of—a symbol of corrupt worldly power—and the triumphant Wedding of the Lamb, representing union with the faithful. Produced anonymously in the Netherlands during the turbulent late Middle Ages, these images reflected widespread fascination with end-times prophecy amid plagues, wars, and religious fervor. Block books like this second-edition volume were pioneering printed works, where text and intricate illustrations were carved together on a single woodblock, predating Gutenberg's movable type. The modest 11 × 8-inch sheet was hand-colored in vivid red, orange, green, gray, and yellow, transforming affordable black-line prints into luminous devotional objects for laypeople. This technique democratized biblical imagery, blending Northern Renaissance detail with bold narrative drama. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a gift from J. Pierpont Morgan, it offers a window into 15th-century piety and early printing innovation, where lambs symbolize divine innocence amid apocalyptic spectacle.