[mitologies] the woodcut room of the Opening of the 5th & 6th Seal

- the Opening of the 5th & 6th Seal -

image of woodcut

The second part of the Apocalypse describes the Book with the Seven Seals. In it are written the eternal decrees of God touching the end of the world, and the final victory of good over evil. At the opening of the fifth seal, the Seer beholds the martyrs that were slain and hears their prayers for the final triumph. At the opening of the sixth seal the predestined to glory are numbered and marked. In Durer's woodcut of the Opening of the 5th & 6th Seal, the actual opening of the seals is not shown, only the consequences. The opening of both seals is combined on one woodcut. This room in the labyrinth brings to life Durer's woodcut by separating it into the main significant parts yet preserving the original elements. These parts are then juxtaposed in the room to recreate the gothic flavour of Durer's engravings as well as the weird and grotesque style of writing of the Revelation.

For the composition, Durer has employed geometrical forms. The scene in heaven is elliptical within a rim of scalloped clouds:

Through the clouds, a shower of stars falls unto earth in the shape of a rhombus ... the stars of heaven fell unto earth as the fig tree casts its unripe fruits when shaken by a great wind. (13)
This scene is mapped on the ceiling of this room, which simulates the shape of a rhombus. As one enters, the ceiling starts to rise, revealing more parts of this fragment of the woodcut.

The eclipses of the sun and moon are signified by their dour expressions. ... And I saw, when he opened the sixth seal, a great earthquake come to pass. The sun turned black like cloth of mourning woven hair, and the moon turned red as blood. The sun and the moon are important elements of the woodcut as well as in this adaptation where they are separated and placed in a prominent position in the room. The deep red hue of the walls strikes as strongly different from the grayness of the tunnels.

And the kings of the earth and the great, the commanders, the rich, and the mighty, and all slaves and free men hid themselves in the crevices of the mountains. The lower part of the woodcut, illustrating all the mortals that are being judjed, appears in multiple semi-transparent layers that rise from the ground like blades. Interspersed throughout the silhouettes of the woodcut on the rough terrain are three-dimensional bodies, adding to the feeling of massive judgement.

The geometric form and symbolism of the elements in this woodcut establish the smooth transition to the next room in the mitologies labyrinth, the Geography book room.

A deep voice and the sound of an earthquake that echoe throughout the room are from Wagner's Siegfried .