Benoît Leroux

The Knights Of The Apocalypse
2024
Oils on
48 X 38 po
Not Framed
7296.00 $ CAD

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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a theme drawn from the Book of Revelation by Saint John, the final text of the Bible. Dürer’s engraving on the same subject earned him widespread popularity across Europe thanks to the rise of the printing press. In this painting, the original spatial arrangement of the horsemen gives the impression that they are floating in mid-air. Each one inhabits a distinct universe, defined by the color of the background from which they emerge. The rider on the white horse, who represents victory in Saint John's text, is dressed like a Hun. He aims his arrow at the Book of Seven Seals, which replaces the lamb, the fiery water—symbolized on the book by a water triangle topped with a flame. Four of the seven seals are already broken, in accordance with the biblical description. Beneath him, in front of a nuclear explosion, the rider bearing the scales—responsible for famine—rides his black horse without saddle or harness. He is portrayed as a nude Amazon. The scales, a symbol of equality championed by modern feminism, now serve not balance but confusion. In the foreground, bottom left, a rider in Greek armor threatens the viewer with his sword. His red horse rears up. Rider and horse merge into a single entity. Finally, the fourth horseman—Death reaps two impoverished souls addicted to xylazine. His pale horse is also a skeleton. As a depiction of the end of the world, this painting was the centerpiece of my solo exhibition Catastrophes in 2025.