A big red dragon and a woman dressed in the sun

The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, the USA.

Watercolour, graphite, ink, paper.

The painting belongs to a series of illustrations for the Bible, which the artist created between 1805 and 1810. The plot of the work is taken from the 12th chapter of the Apocalypse, which tells about a woman ready to give birth to a child, and a dragon who is going to devour him as soon as he is born. The grotesque body of the monster looming menacingly over a lying woman occupies most of the canvas. It is the personification of the power of evil forces, while the lying figure radiates a warm glow like sunlight. The work, built on contrast, tells of the eternal struggle between good and evil and the balance of forces in nature.