"And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat on him…came forth conquering and to conquer…
and another horse came forth, a red horse and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from earth and that they should kill one another;
and I saw a black horse: and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand…
and I saw a pale horse: and he that sat upon him, his name was Death….
and power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine, and with death, and by the wild beasts of the earth…
And I saw, and I heard an eagle, flying in mid heaven, saying with a great voice Woe, Woe, Woe, for them that dwelt on earth…."
Revelation of St. John
The visionary text in which the things which must shortly come to pass are revealed, was set down by St. John while he was in exiled seclusion on the Isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. After addressing a series of admonishing and consoling letters to the Seven Churches in Asia Minor, he proceeds to depict his visions with a stream of powerful images. Their overwhelming effect penetrates the vista of the imagination in a conflagration of awe, mystery and power evoking a visual sense of excitement intermingled with apprehension, fear, consolation, and inspiration.
Appearing during the last quarter of the 1 st Century A.D., the book reflects the persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire, alluded to as the great harlot of Babylon. The Dualistic universe of heavenly and subterranean powers is made visible by the characters and forms of their respective inhabitants and the struggle between good and evil. Their furious and intense battle thrust in all directions the cataclysmic vortices of an Apocalypse whose images linger across time and space, becoming audible and visible through the continual upheavals, catastrophes, and wars sweeping the world.
As a subject for painting the metaphorical aspects of the Apocalypse offer a visual stimulus whose complex rhythm surges through time and space transforming sensations into a variety of forms, shapes, and meanings. The wide range of symbols enveloping the images allows the imagination to undulate inside its own space and make a world out of those motifs and elements whose spatial field of imagery expresses itself freely in the realm of painting.
