The Apocalypse, or Book of Revelation, was, according to European medieval tradition, written by John the Evangelist during his exile on the Greek island of Patmos. The opening chapters recount God’s instructions to the bishops of the seven churches in Asia Minor. The following chapters describe John’s extraordinary account of events to come at the end of time. The colorful illustrations of this manuscript bring these dream-like prophecies to life.
A partly effaced coat of arms within the book suggests that it was created for an aristocratic couple in Normandy, the wife apparently a member of the de Montigny family.
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War in Heaven (f. 20 v.)
The Annunciation and the Visitation (f. 1 r.)
The Nativity and the Annunciation to the Shepherds (f. 1 v.)
The Adoration of the Magi and the Presentation in the Temple (f. 2 r.)
The Massacre of the Innocents and the Flight into Egypt (f. 2 v.)
John on the Island of Patmos (f. 3 r.)
Vision of the Son of Man (f. 3 v.)
Addresses to the Churches (f. 4 r.)
Addresses to the Churches (f. 4 v.)
The Seven Churches and the Seven Angels (f. 5 r.)
The Court of Heaven (f. 5 v.)
folio 6 r.
(f. 6 v.)
The Opening of the Book (f. 7 r.)
The Opening of the First Seal: War (f. 7 v.)
The Opening of the Second Seal: Strife (f. 8r)
The Opening of the Third Seal: Famine (f. 8 v.)
The Opening of the Fourth Seal: Pestilence (f. 9r)
The Opening of the Fifth Seal: The Martyrs (f. 9 v.)
The Opening of the Sixth Seal: Signs on Heaven and in Earth (f. 10r)
The Control of the Four Winds (f. 10 v.)
The Blessedness of the Sealed (f. 11r)
The Opening of the Seventh Seal: The Angles Given Trumpets (f. 11 v.)
The Emptying of the Censer (f. 12r)
The First Trumpet Sounded: Hail and Fire Mingled with Blood Fell to the Earth (f. 12 v.)
The Second Trumpet Sounded: A Burning Mountain Is Cast into the Sea (f. 13r)
The Third Trumpet Sounded: The Waters Become Wormwood (f. 13 v.)
The Fourth Trumpet Sounded: The Light of the Earth Is Extinguished (f. 14r)
The Fifth Trumpet Sounded: The First Woe (f. 14 v.)
The Sixth Trumpet Sounded: The Angels Bound in the Euphrates Are Released (f. 15r)
The Army of Horsemen (f. 15 v.)
The Angel with the Book (f. 16r)
John Eats the Book and Is Commanded to Prophesy (f. 16 v.)
The Measuring of the Temple (f. 17r)
The Two Witnesses (f. 17 v.)
The Locusts Wage War (f. 18r)
The Breath of Life Enters the Witnesses (f. 18 v.)
The Witnesses Ascend; The Second Woe (f. 19r)
The Seventh Trumpet Sounded: The Elders Give Thanks (f. 19 v.)
A Storm; The Woman and the Dragon (f. 20r)
The Dragon and the Woman (f. 21r)
The Woman Escapes (f. 21 v.)
The Dragon Wages War (f. 22r)
The Beast of the Sea (f. 22 v.)
The Beast of the Sea and the Dragon Worshiped (f. 23r)
The Beast Wages War against the Saints (f. 23 v.)
The Beast of the Earth (f. 24r)
An Image of the Beast of the Sea Fashioned (f. 24 v.)
The Worshipers of the Beast Receive His Mark (f. 25r)
The Lamb and the Virgins (f. 25 v.)
The First Angel (f. 26r)
The Second Angel (f. 26 v.)
The Third Angel (f. 27r)
The Blessed Dead (f. 27 v.)
The Harvest of the Earth Reaped (f. 28r)
The Vine of the Earth (f. 28 v.)
The Angel Gathers the Vintage of the Earth (f. 29r)
The Angels and the Plagues. The Sea of Glass. (f. 29 v.)
The Angels and the Bowls (f. 30r)
The First Bowl (f. 30 v.)
The Second Bowl (f. 31r)
The Third Bowl (f. 31 v.)
The Fourth Bowl (f. 32r)
The Fifth Bowl (f. 32 v.)
The Sixth Bowl (f. 33r)
The Unclean Spirits (f. 33 v.)
The First Ressurection (f. 34r)
Satan Released from Prision (f. 34 v.)
The Dragon and the Beasts Cast into Hell (f. 35r)
The Last Judgment (f. 35 v.)
The New Jerusalem (f. 36r)
John Led to the New Jerusalem (f. 36 v.)
The River and the Tree of Life (f. 37r)
John Worships the Angel (f. 37 v.)
John before the Lord (f. 38r)
Dedication Page (f. 38 v)
folio 39r
folio 39
Inside front cover
folio 40r
folio 40
Cover
Cover
Artwork Details
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Title:The Cloisters Apocalypse
Date:ca. 1330
Geography:Made in Normandy, France
Culture:French
Medium:Tempera, gold, silver, and ink on parchment; later leather binding
Dimensions:Overall: 12 3/8 × 9 3/8 × 1 3/8 in. (31.5 × 23.8 × 3.5 cm) Each folio: 12 1/8 × 9 1/16 in. (30.8 × 23 cm)
Classification:Manuscripts and Illuminations
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1968
Accession Number:68.174
Robert Pecham, Biddlesden and Rome (until d. 1569) ; bequeathed to Thomas Darellus, Douay and Agen (from 1569) ; Antoine de Lescazes, Agen (from 1600) ; Etienne Cauvy, Bordeaux (by 1728, acquired from a travelling merchant) ; Dr. Louis-Maximien Rey, Bordeaux (1835–at least 1895, acquired as gift from a nun) ; baron Auvray, Tours (after 1895–ca. 1920) ; his posthumous sale, Hôtel des Ventes, Tours (June 9-10, 1920, no. 203; to Rothschild) ; Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, Paris (1920–d.1934) ; by descent to Alexandrine de Rothschild, Paris (1934–d. 1965) ; her posthumous sale, Palais Galliéra, Paris (June 24, 1968, no. 2; to Kraus) ; [ H. P. Kraus, New York (1968)]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Patterns of Collecting: Selected Acquisitions, 1965–1975," December 6, 1975–March 23, 1976.
Morgan Library & Museum. "The Apocalypse: 980–1800," January 28–April 13, 1986.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven," September 26, 2016–January 8, 2017.
Cirot de la Ville, Jean-Pierre-Albert. "Sur un Manuscrit de l'Apocalypse avec figures enluminées." Congrès Scientifique de France: 28me session, Bordeaux 2 (September 1861). pp. 365–69, 395–96.
Delisle, Léopold, and Paul Meyer, ed. L'Apocalypse en français au XIIIe siècle. Société des anciens textes français. Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1901. no. 15, pp. IV, XCV–XCVIII and throughout.
Succession de M. le Baron Auvray: Gravures, tableaux, dessins, faïences et porcelaines […] 2e vente. Tours: Hôtel des Ventes, June 9-10, 1920. no. 203.
Deuchler, Florens. "The Cloisters: A New Center for Mediaeval Studies." The Connoisseur 172 (November 1969). p. 146, fig. 13.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Ninety-Ninth Annual Report of the Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Fiscal Year 1968-1969." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 28, no. 2 (October 1969). p. 85.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries. New York: Dutton Publishing, 1970. no. 150, p. 175.
The Cloisters Apocalypse: a Fourteenth-Century Manuscript in Facsimile, Volume 1: Facsimile. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971. Facsimile reproduction.
The Cloisters Apocalypse: a Fourteenth-Century Manuscript in Facsimile, Volume 2: Commentaries. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971. Discussed throughout.
Heimann, Adelheid. "Moses Shown the Promised Land." Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 34 (1971). p. 324, pl. 53b.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Cloisters Apocalypse." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 30, no. 2 (1971). p. 45.
Deuchler, Florens. "The Cloisters: Ein Museum für mittelalterliche Kunst in New York." Du 32, no. 2 (1972). pp. 128–29.
Nickel, Helmut. "A Theory about the Early History of the Cloisters Apocalypse." Metropolitan Museum Journal 6 (1972). pp. 59–72, fig. 1–5, 7.
Nickel, Helmut. "Arms and Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 32, no. 4 (1973-1974). p. 71.
Cetto, Anna Maria. "Der Dritte Apocalyptische Reiter." Metropolitan Museum Journal 9 (1974). pp. 203–10, fig. 2.
Raggio, Olga, ed. "Medieval Art and the Cloisters." Notable Acquisitions (Metropolitan Museum of Art) no. 1965/1975 (1975). p. 147.
Raggio, Olga, ed. Patterns of Collecting: Selected Acquisitions, 1965-1975; Explanatory Texts. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975. p. 18.
Bennett, Anna Gray. Five Centuries of Tapestry from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. San Francisco, CA: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1976. pp. 32–33.
Nickel, Helmut. "And Behold, a White Horse ... Observations on the Colors of the Horses of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." Metropolitan Museum Journal 12 (1977). pp. 179–83, fig. 1–4.
Schmidt, Gerhard. "Die Chorschrankenmalereien des Kölner Domes und die europäische Malerei." Kölner Domblatt: Jahrbuch des Zentral-Dombau-Vereins 44-45 (1979/1980). p. 336 n. 28.
Bell, Susan Groag. "Medieval Women Book Owners: Arbiters of Lay Piety and Ambassadors of Culture." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 7, no. 4 (Summer 1982). p. 762, fig. 13.
Brandt, Anthony. "The Baron of Rare Books." The Connoisseur 212 (September 1982). pp. 137–39.
Hayward, Jane, and Walter Cahn. Radiance and Reflection: Medieval Art from the Raymond Pitcairn Collection. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982. p. 178.
Mentré, Mireille. Création et Apocalypse: Histoire d'un Regard Humain sur le Divin. Paris: O.E.I.L., 1984. pp. 169, 183–84.
Emmerson, Richard K., and Susanna Lewis. "Census and Bibliography of Medieval Manuscripts Containing Apocalypse Illustrations, ca. 800–1500: Part II." Traditio 41 (1985). no. 86, p. 395.
Schrader, J. L. "A Medieval Bestiary." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 44, no. 1 (Summer 1986). p. 9, fig. 8.
Burn, Barbara, ed. The Life of Christ: Images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989. p. 21, 94.
Jiménez Bonhomme, Manuel. El Apocalipsis: la Historia Iluminada por la Gloria de Cristo. Mexico City: Editorial Jus, 1991. pp. 32, 48, 80, 96, 128, 144, 176, 192.
Nickel, Helmut. "A Crusader's Sword: Concerining the Effigy of Jean d'Alluye." Metropolitan Museum Journal 26 (1991). pp. 123, 125, fig. 3.
Benton, Janetta Rebold. The Medieval Menagerie: Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages. New York: Abbeville Press, 1992. pp. 46–47, 51–52, 61–63, 111, 113, 154–55, 157, fig. 38, 60, 96, 136.
Klein, Peter K. "Introduction: The Apocalypse in Medieval Art." In The Apocalypse in the Middle Ages, edited by Richard K. Emmerson, and Bernard McGinn. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992. p. 190.
Hall, Edwin. The Arnolfini Betrothal: Medieval Marriage and the Enigma of van Eyck's Double Portrait. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994. pp. 81–82, fig. 36.
Mentré, Mireille. "Femme de l’Apocalypse et Vierge à l’Enfant." Les Cahiers de Saint-Michel de Cuxa 25 (July 1994). pp. 83–84, fig. 6.
Pérez-Higuera, Teresa. Puer natus est nobis: La iconografia de la Navidad en el arte medieval. Bilbao: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya, 1994. pp. 43, 125, 135, 152, 167, 180, 188–89, 212, 220–22.
Wixom, William D., and Margaret Lawson. "Picturing the Apocalypse: Illustrated Leaves from a Medieval Spanish Manuscript." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 59, no. 3 (Winter 2002). p. 7, fig. 4.
de Hamel, Christopher. The Rothschilds and their Collections of Illuminated Manuscripts. London: British Library, 2005. pp. 21, 31–32, 50–51, 59, pl. 23.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. 75th Anniversary ed. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 101.
Gertsman, Elina. Worlds Within: Opening the Medieval Shrine Madonna. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2015. p. 59, fig. 44.
Boehm, Barbara Drake, and Melanie Holcomb, ed. Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016. no. 140, pp. 284, 286.
Boehm, Barbara Drake, and Melanie Holcomb. "Holy War and the Power of Art." In Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven, edited by Barbara Drake Boehm, and Melanie Holcomb. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016. p. 202, fig. 76.
Kornfeld, Abby. "Seeking the Eternal Jerusalem." In Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven, edited by Barbara Drake Boehm, and Melanie Holcomb. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016. p. 273.
Gertsman, Elina. The Absent Image: Lacunae in Medieval Books. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2021. p. 47, fig. 28.
Ackley, Joseph Salvatore, and Shannon L. Wearing. "Preciousness on Parchment: Materiality, Pictoriality, and the Decorated Book." In Illuminating Metalwork: Metal, Object, and Image in Medieval Manuscripts, edited by Joseph Salvatore Ackley, and Shannon L. Wearing. Boston: W. de Gruyter & Co, 2022. pp. 40–42, fig. 17, 18.
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