The realistic way in which Dürer depicted Saint John's cryptic visions becomes particularly apparent in the present image. The figure and attire of the Whore is closely based on a highly finished drawing of a Venetian lady he made on his first trip to Venice in 1494-95 (W. 69). Venice, the largest and richest city in Europe, was famous for its courtesans and the alluring appearance and louche behaviour of its women. The lady holds the 'cup of impurity', just above the grotesque four-legged, seven-necked beast. Dürer rendered the woman's dress and coiffure, the plants in the foreground and the landscape in the distance (with Babylon in flames), with greatest detail and accuracy. By taking such pains to accurately describe the natural world, the supernatural events unfolding within it appear no less real.
The present early proof impression, printed before the first text editions in Latin and German of 1498, is true testament to the great beauty of Dürer's illustrations, which in their scale and complexity are without precedent in the history of European printmaking and book production.