SPRUANCE, Benton

Riders of the Apocalypse is an oblique reference to the Albrecht Dürer master woodcut The Four Horsemen, at once an art historical nod and a dark warning. Created during the height of the Second World War, the lithograph depicts modern fighter jets in place of horsemen to caution against the evils and destructiveness of man. According to Fine/Looney, “The forties was a period of extraordinary transition in Spruance’s work. The war and its aftermath, as well as Spruance’s growing maturity as an artist, were among the reasons for the substantial changes that occurred.”