Iconography: This painting is part of a group of landscapes depicting The Vision of the Apocalypse of Saint John on Patmos by Herri met de Bles and his entourage (see figs. 1, 2 and the list below).

The small island of Pátmos in the Dodecanese is reputed to be where St John the Theologian wrote both his Gospel and the Apocalypse. A monastery dedicated to the ‘beloved disciple' was founded there ...