The Angel Calling the Birds
n.d.
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/sheet, trimmed within platemark: 29.2 × 20.7 cm (11 1/2 × 8 3/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
4412
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
An avenging angel, arriving on the heels of the militant Christ’s triumph over the wicked world, serves as a cleansing force. Revelation 19:17 describes the vision: “an angel standing in the sun . . . cried, with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that did fly through the midst of heaven: come gather yourselves together to the great supper of the Lord.” The bodies of the slain were devoured regardless of rank, and the “false prophet” was “cast alive into the pool of fire, burning with brimsto...
About the Artist
Jean Duvet · 1485–1570
Jean Duvet (1485–after 1562), a pioneering French goldsmith and engraver from the provincial heartlands of Dijon and Langres, emerged as the first significant printmaker in France. Born to a Dijon goldsmith, he trained in the family trade and rose swiftly, becoming master of the Dijon Goldsmiths' Guild by 1509. Duvet's early career blended goldsmithing with engraving; no specific teachers are docu...