Death on the Pale Horse

"Death on the Pale Horse" by Benjamin West exists in three notable versions, each reflecting his mastery of religious painting and the Sublime. The earliest, a large drawing from 1783, is part of the Royal Academy of Art's collection. The 1796 Oil painting resides in the Detroit Institute of Art, while the monumental 1817 canvas, displayed on Pall Mall and later acquired by the Pennsylvania Academy, measures 25 feet wide. Inspired by apocalyptic visions from the Book of Revelation, the works exhibit West’s neoclassical influences amid the grandeur and fear of the end times, embodying characteristics of Neoclassicism and the Sublime in British art.