{"id":58,"title":"Destruction of the Beast and the False Prophet","medium":"Oil on panel","classification":"Paintings","dimension":"39 x 56 1/2 in. (99.06 x 143.51 cm) (panel)","object_name":"Painting","continent":"Americas","country":"United States","nationality":"American","dated":"1804","room":"G322","role":"Artist","inscription":"Signature and Date","signed":"LC in black: [B. West 1804]","text":"The popularity of Benjamin West owed entirely to the patronage of King George III of England and his project for the Chapel of Revealed Religion at Windsor Castle (1780-1801). West exhibited this picture, also known as The Messiah on a White Horse, at the Royal Academy in 1804, and later claimed that the subject was conceived for the Revealed Religion project, although a larger version never materialized. The principal figure is the heroic rider of the Book of Revelations, often identified as the Messiah. The painting probes the extent to which the apocalyptic sublime can introduce the grotesque without being overwhelmed by it.","creditline":"The William Hood Dunwoody Fund","Catalog_Raisonne":"von Erffa and Staley: 410.","accession_number":"15.22","artist":"Benjamin West","life_date":"American (active Britain), 1738–1820","department":"Arts of the Americas","rights_type":"Public Domain","image_width":6660,"image_height":5046,"recent":0,"see_also":[],"sort_number":"15    22","image":"valid","public_access":1,"curator_approved":0,"highlights":0,"Cache_Location":"000000\\000\\50\\58","Primary_RenditionNumber":"mia_5009044.jpg","Rights_Image_Display":"Full","TitleAlt":"The White Horse and His Legions, who overthrew the Old Beast and False Prophet, vide Rev. XIX, 11-14, 4.3 x 4.9, The Messiah on a White Horse, Death on the Pale Horse, Overthrow of the Old Beast and the False Prophet","related:audio-stops":[{"title":"West, Destruction of the Beast and the False Prophet","_id":"58","objectId":"58","link":"http://audio-tours.s3.amazonaws.com/p044.mp3","number":"044","type":"audio"}],"mtime":"2026-02-04T06:00:50.797Z"}