The Revelation of St. John: 1. The Martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist

According to tradition, the martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist was accomplished in a bath of boiling oil.

The martyrdom of St. John was a favourite subject of medieval art, and the conception of Dürer’s work does not differ from other representations, being restrained by the established, orthodox custom.

St. John sits naked in the oil bath, with flames springing all around him. An executioner in the foreground quickens the fire with a pair of bellows, while another pours the boiling oil.

The Emperor Domitian, who condemned St. John to suffer a martyr's death, and who was reputed of inventing this method of execution, looks on, somehow annoyed that the Saint bears his sufferings with so much patience.

The Emperor’s throne is placed on the place of martyrdom, which is separated from the outer world by a wall cutting straight across the picture. Members of various classes and nations are assembled in the audience, with Domitian and his officers represented as heathens, wearing Turkish clothes.

Among the spectators on the other side of the wall, we recognise the stolid German burgher, who, together with the man with a turban, are well-known Dürer types.