The National Library of France (Bibliothèque nationale de France, BnF) unveiled an ambitious exhibition titled Apocalypse: Yesterday and Tomorrow, exploring the theme of the apocalypse from its religious origins to modern interpretations, including cinema's portrayal of apocalyptic imagery. The exhibition features nearly 300 pieces, including illuminated books from the Middle Ages, sculptures, and videos by contemporary artists.
"The word 'apocalypse' is present everywhere around us, but we have lost its original meaning, which is that of revelation," said Jeanne Brun, the general curator of the exhibition and deputy director of the Musée national d'art moderne – Centre Pompidou, according to France Info.
The term "apocalypse" originally comes from Greek and means revelation, unveiling, or making bare – not catastrophe – and it always resurfaces in times of trouble and turning points. The exhibition begins with illuminations of the Beatus of Saint-Sever, a treasure of the BnF. Created in the 11th century, it includes a double-page spread showing Christ confronting three Horsemen of the Apocalypse, according to Le Monde.
The Beatus of Saint-Sever contains more than a hundred pages of illuminations in bright colors and was created based on the commentaries on the Book of Revelation by Beatus of Liébana, designed to evoke anxiety by purely visual means, as described by Ouest-France. "It represents only a few pages if you leaf through the Bible, but it is very dense. One progresses through it with difficulty," explained Brun.
The Apocalypse of Saint John, the last book of the New Testament, serves as the starting point of the exhibition. It is described as "a very small book, dense and difficult, teeming with images." The exhibition highlights the essential role of Albrecht Dürer, who, through his series of wood engravings, was one of the main artists who contributed to consolidating the imagery of the apocalypse.
A highlight of the exhibition is Dürer's complete woodcut series from 1498 of the Latin edition Apocalypsis cum Figuris, which includes The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Whore of Babylon on the Scarlet Beast, and The Binding of the Dragon and the New Jerusalem, as described by Le Monde. Francisco Goya's series The Disasters of War is also featured, opening with the figure of the Prophet and closing with a monster that swallows or vomits humans.
These works reflect real events that inspire apocalyptic scenarios, with brief captions of biblical resonances such as "Truth died," reports Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Contemporary contributions include Lars von Trier's 2011 film Melancholia, which tells the story of a family waiting for a gigantic planet to collide with the Earth.
Another screen presents Metropolis by Fritz Lang (1927), featuring the great harlot of Babylon sitting on the beast. "The Romantic and Symbolist movements, in particular, will remind that man must not make the mistake of thinking he masters the world," stated Brun, according to Ouest-France.
The Franco-Lebanese artist Ali Cherri brings a more joyful vision with his Tree of Life, inspired by the end of the text of the Apocalypse.
The exhibition will be held at the BnF, François Mitterrand site in Paris until June 8, 2025, opening Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
"The artistic success of the Apocalypse has never waned," as evidenced by the current exhibition at the BnF, which features works spanning from the early Middle Ages to the present, notes Le Monde. "The injunction that is made to us in the Apocalypse, through John, is to stop blinding ourselves to the events of our time, to see the hidden truths and to make them visible," added Brun.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
