Apocalypse 42

Copied Viktor Schreckengost, Apocalypse '42, 1942, terracotta and glaze with engobe, 15 3820 388 18 in. (39.151.820.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1985.92.1

Artwork Details

Title
Apocalypse 42
Date
1942
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
15 3820 388 18 in. (39.151.820.6 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Mediums
Mediums Description
terracotta and glaze with engobe
Classifications
Subjects
  • Allegory — death
  • Religion — New Testament — Last Judgment
  • Allegory — civic — fascism
  • Portrait male — Hitler, Adolf — caricature
  • Portrait male — Mussolini — caricature
Object Number
1985.92.1

Artwork Description

I've always felt that you can say more with one vivid cartoon than you can with a lot of heavy words. -- Viktor Schreckengost

Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery, 2019

Luce Center Label
Viktor Schreckengost created Apocalypse '42 a few months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This image of a frightened horse bearing Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito, and a figure of Death across the globe was made to protest the rise of fascism. The drips of bloodred glaze around the horse's head and hooves were an unintentional effect of the firing process.

Exhibitions

Media - 2016.11 - SAAM-2016.11_6 - 124929
Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
November 13, 2015March 6, 2022
Connections is the Renwick Gallery’s dynamic ongoing permanent collection presentation, featuring more than 80 objects celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world.