# The Revelation of St John: 9. St John Devours the Book [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [DÜRER, Albrecht]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Woodcut, 398 x 289 mm ## Commentary The Revelation of St John: 9. St John Devours the Book 1497-98 Woodcut, 398 x 289 mm Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe The tenth chapter of Revelation \(Rev. 10:1-9\) describes how an angel, wrapped in cloud, his face shining like the sun, and with legs like pillars of fire, one planted in the sea, one on land, appeared to St John on Patmos. John was commanded to take the angel's scroll and eat it, thus "inwardly digesting" the divine message. While this scene is depicted in the foreground, putti are worshipping an altar in the heavens which is surrounded by a rainbow. Dürer created his woodcuts for the Apocalypse using a descriptive style of lines which was highly admired by contemporaries and is particularly evident in the detailed sections. ## Related artworks - [A Young Girl of Cologne and Dürer's Wife]() - [Abduction of a Woman]() - [Abduction of Proserpine on a Unicorn]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam and Eve]() - [Adam \(detail\)]() - [Adam]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Magi \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()