This Financial Times article surveys how artists from Albrecht Dürer to Keith Haring and Anselm Kiefer have depicted apocalyptic visions, tracing the evolution of cataclysmic imagery across centuries. It examines how each era's end-of-world art—from Dürer's woodcuts of the Four Horsemen to Haring's radiant baby confronting nuclear threat and Kiefer's scorched landscapes—reflects the specific anxieties of its time, whether religious, political, or environmental.
The article matters because it demonstrates that apocalyptic art is not merely about destruction but serves as a mirror to contemporary fears, offering a visual language for collective dread. By connecting historical works with modern interpretations, it shows how artists continually reinvent end-times imagery to address shifting societal concerns, from war and plague to climate change, making the genre a persistent and relevant form of cultural commentary.