The Revelation of St. John (1558) - Page 12

⚠Slight bleed-through from the reverse side; minor brown circular stain on the left center of the woodcut.

The angel sounded the trumpet; a burning mountain was cast into the sea; the ships perish. Revelation 8.

original Latin: "Angelus tuba cecinit, mons ardens missus in mare, naues intereunt. Apocal. 8."

An angel sounds the trumpet / A burning mountain is thrown into the sea / The ships perish. Revelation 8.

original German: "Ein Engel posaunet / Ein brennender berg ins Meer geworffen / Die schiff verderben. Apoc. 8."

angel, trumpet, burning mountain, Apocalypse, trumpet original: "Posaune", ship, Revelation, woodcut

This illustration depicts the Second Trumpet of the Apocalypse. While the first judgment struck the dry land, this scene focuses on the destruction of the seas.

In the upper left, an angel emerges from the clouds to blow a long trumpet. In response, a massive, craggy mountain engulfed in flames falls from the heavens into the ocean. The woodcut vividly captures the resulting chaos: the water is turbulent, and several large sailing vessels—rendered as contemporary 16th-century galleons—are shown tilting and sinking.

According to the biblical text, when this mountain hits the water, a third of the sea turns to blood, a third of the sea creatures die, and a third of the ships are destroyed. This sequence of "thirds" emphasizes that while the devastation is massive, it is still a partial judgment intended as a divine warning. The artist uses dense hatching to contrast the dark, smoke-filled sky with the churning white foam of the sea.