The Babylon Harlot seated on the Seven-Headed Beast, from the Apocalypse

Art Historical Context

Jean Duvet's *The Babylon Harlot seated the Seven-Headed, from the Apocalypse* a striking engraving from the artist's renowned series illustrating the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Created by the 16th-century French gold and engraver Jean Duvet (active ca. 1500–1560), this undated work captures the dramatic vision from Revelation 17, where the infamous Whore of Babylon—symbolizing corrupt power and idolatry—rides a monstrous seven-headed beast amid swirling chaos. Duvet's Apocalypse series, one of the earliest complete printed cycles of this biblical text, reflects the intense religious fervor of the Reformation era, blending prophecy with vivid moral allegory. As an engraving, the piece showcases Duvet's mastery of the burin technique, incising fine, intricate lines into a copper plate to produce rich tonal contrasts and meticulous details—from the harlot's flowing robes and jeweled crown to the beast's scaly hides and multiple crowns. Measuring about 12 x 9 inches on its sheet, this print was designed for dissemination, allowing widespread access to apocalyptic imagery in an age of religious upheaval. Duvet's style echoes northern Renaissance masters like Albrecht Dürer, with dense compositions and gothic flourishes that heighten the scene's terror and grandeur. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (acquired via the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1925), this work invites visitors to ponder timeless themes of judgment and empire's fall, its enduring power lying in its fusion of technical precision and prophetic intensity.

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...