Four Apostles – John the Evangelist and Peter, Mark and Paul
Albrecht Dürer – Four Apostles - John the Evangelist and Peter, Mark and Paul
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Painter: Albrecht Dürer
Location: Alte Pinakothek, Munich.
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The Four Apostles painting depicts the evangelist apostles. From left to right stand John, Peter, Mark, and Paul, standing very closely together, on the same floor, representing a single unit. One in composition as well as in aspiration. However, if we compare the apostles to one another, they are completely different. John is tall, with a high forehead-he is already beginning to go bald. He holds a book in his hand, looking through it with a face tense and a little distracted.
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Description of Albrecht Dürer’s Four Apostles
The Four Apostles painting depicts the evangelist apostles. From left to right stand John, Peter, Mark, and Paul, standing very closely together, on the same floor, representing a single unit. One in composition as well as in aspiration. However, if we compare the apostles to one another, they are completely different. John is tall, with a high forehead-he is already beginning to go bald.
He holds a book in his hand, looking through it with a face tense and a little distracted. He seems unattractive, as is the case with scientists who are overly engrossed in things. He represents a sanguine character. Next to him is Peter, standing with his gaze fixed on the floor.
According to tradition, Peter betrayed Christ, though he repented of it - on the night of Christ’s imprisonment, Peter was asked three times if he knew the man, and three times Peter, who had previously sworn allegiance to him and was fanatical in his faith, answered "No." His posture shows a heavy brooding, a quiet sullenness, as if oppressed by his guilt, he has never been able to say goodbye to it completely. He is phlegmatic. Next to him is Mark. Joyfully animated, he looks at the huge book Paul is holding--probably the Gospel--and anticipates the work ahead.
To glorify the Lord, to spread his word over the whole earth, seems to Mark a worthy endeavor. Temperamental, he looks forward to getting started. He is a choleric.
Paul, standing next to him, is calmer. He holds the Gospel in his hands and in his other hand he has a stick to lean on. He is dressed in white and looks stern and serious, as if asking the onlooker - how did their great campaign turn out? Did the people listen to them? Have they believed in God? He is a melancholic.
For all the dissimilarity of the apostles, for all the different faces, they all look alike as believers, and the same light shines on them from within.
That light that came upon them after Christ’s ascension is what made them more than brothers.
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THE APOSTLES
How can I become a catcher of men?!
He saw the light of a wondrous catch.
He felt the power of powers more surely,
Than he could comprehend the power of words.
All twelve are gathered, and now
They are lovingly bathed in light.
When truth guides you,
Can you remain the same?
Just as
The soil, having received fertilizer,
Can it remain barren? Apostle
John, foreseeing a vast
Amount of data that a wild island would reveal.
And Andrew, going nowhere,
Knowing so precisely his goal.
The false environment of the Pharisees –
Where is the deception when drawing conclusions?
And Peter is destined to deny.
Times and signs are confused.
It is not given to us to comprehend in detail
The paths of the apostles – they were twofold:
What was written down, and what they knew –
And they probably knew much more.
And our disbelief is like wine,
Or gray ash of falsehood in our souls.
Paul, who saw the light on his way –
What was Damascus like when truth opened up?
And it is given as a blessing,
But you can also come to it yourself.
Many roads, many rocks –
Patmos rises majestically,
For John stood there in spirit –
Images piled up in the depths of his mind.
The bell calls us to action –
To the action of knowing God. It is difficult.
How we long to feel flight,
Our souls cannot sleep restlessly.
It is barely possible to describe the world
Of Jesus with four Gospels –
He is a part of us, and we are in Him – understand
The will of perfect verticality.
John explains the mystical essence
Of light through the power of the Word.
From the beginning, it is impossible to imagine the path –
You strive again and again, sinner that you are.
And twelve people go...
Their clothes sway in the wind.
They walk through space, and the sum of our beliefs
Makes us different from what we were before,
Although we do not grow quickly. But we are growing -
In this growth beats the pulse of hope,
Strengthened by light.
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On the left panel, John the Evangelist, recognizable by his youthful features and fair hair, stands in a vibrant red cloak over a green tunic. He is intensely focused on a book of scripture he holds, with an elder figure, believed to be Peter, looking over his shoulder at the text. Peter is depicted with a gray beard and is holding a large key, a traditional symbol of his office as the rock of the Church. Their serious expressions and the depicted texts suggest a moment of deep theological reflection or discussion.
The right panel features two more austere figures. The foremost, a bald man with a long gray beard, is clad in a flowing white robe. He holds a book and gazes intently to the left, seemingly in deep thought or disagreement with the figure behind him. This figure, partially obscured, has dark, curly hair and a beard, and his gaze is directed directly at the viewer with a somewhat wary or questioning expression. He appears to be holding a sword hilt, a possible allusion to martyrdom.
The subtext of the painting is deeply rooted in Lutheran theology, a significant aspect given Dürers Protestant leanings and the historical context of the Reformation. Dürer intended this work to convey a message about the core tenets of faith. John the Evangelist, representing love and the divine word, is paired with Peter, who embodies the authority and structure of the Church grounded in Christs teachings. This pairing emphasizes Peters role as the keeper of the keys, symbolizing his leadership, but also highlights the primacy of scripture as illuminated by John.
In contrast, the figures on the right-hand panel are often interpreted as Paul and Mark. Paul, with his emphasis on faith and grace, is depicted with a sword, symbolizing his martyrdom and his powerful, at times combative, preaching. He is shown looking away from the scripture, perhaps signifying his focus on spiritual revelation rather than solely textual interpretation. The figure of Mark, often associated with the Gospel of Mark and a witness to Peter, has a more agitated expression, possibly representing the anxieties and challenges faced by the early Church or the uncertainties of theological interpretation.
Dürers arrangement of the apostles, with John and Peter emphasizing the importance of scripture and church authority, and Paul and Mark potentially representing the challenges and complexities of faith and doctrine within the wider Christian community, can be seen as a visual representation of important theological debates of the era. The painting can be interpreted as a call to prioritize scripture (verbum Dei - the Word of God) and faith, while acknowledging the human element of doubt and the structure of the Church, all within the context of the dawning Reformation.