Opeongo – At 85, Horst Maria Guilhauman seems almost ageless sporting his trim physique, youthful enthusiasm and trademark ponytail, but he is very conscious of this milestone birthday and has painted a culminating masterpiece to mark this event and perhaps serve as a reminder to others of the fragility of life and the judgement at the end.

“These are the horses of the Apocalypse,” he said after unveiling his latest masterpiece. “There is a lot of information in Revelation about the Apocalypse and this has been on my mind for some time.”

Deeply religious and philosophical, Mr. Guilhauman said at one time he considered a religious calling.

“But I thought I would be a better painter than preacher,” he said with a smile. “I am a visual preacher.”

However, the draw to the written word is still there and he has not only painted his vision of the horses of the Apocalypse but written about it as well.

His words describing the painting are follows:

“What is the apocalypse?

A fairy tale or dusty Biblical prophecies of the ancient past?

“Of a past, in which God inspired the Apostle John to discuss, what is commonly called ‘The four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’, riding on red, black, white, grizzled and bay horses. They are to gallop right into our immediate future with an impact far beyond the present day occurrences of religious deception, war, famine and pestilence; symbolizing an end time culmination of the most devastating woes endured by mankind.

“From an artist’s perspective, I am more in favour of an apocalyptic divine inspired fairy tale.”

“Influenced by Albrecht Durer, 16th century German painter, whose vivid realistic renderings of the apocalypse, inspired my early artistic fantasies at age 15 to draw and ride the horses right out of my sketch book. Adding to it my undying love for the Brother Grimm’s fairy tales, and you have me, seven decades later, painting the last chapter of the prophetic sage – unleashing ‘The Horses of the Apocalypse’.”

Born in Germany, he was captivated by images of the Apocalypse as a young man and began sketching his vision.

“I still have a lot of sketches from that time in 1952,” he said.

While his original sketches are different from the imagery he used with the painting he finished in his 80s, the flowing movement of the horses is still there.

Painting in his studio on the Opeongo Road at Lake Clear he spent much of the winter working on this piece. The end result shows the horses of the apocalypse charging out at the viewer, as well as a middle horse.

“I started with the four horses,” he said. “I did not want the four horses with riders.”

The four horses at the bottom of the canvas were the first image he went with and then the painting grew from there with a cross and several stars of David around the top symbolizing the disciples of Christ.

The work took several months to complete and was finished right around his birthday in May. The completion date was shortly after his birthday and he considers this a significant achievement for his 85^th year.

“I worked on this for four and a half months,” he said. “It is a very personal work. I talked to God to show me what to do next because I had vague ideas of how it should be.”

The description of the horses and the Apocalypse has a white horse and the avenging Christ, so Mr. Guilhauman incorporated that with his horses as the horse in the middle. There is also the inscription at the top INRI which is referenced in the Bible as the King of the Jews and the reminder from the artist of Jesus of Nazareth being the king.

As in anything the artist creates, much thought and symbolism go into it.  The colours – vivid hues – go back into blackness.

“And I knew I had to have red and mauve tones in it,” he said.

Pertinent To 2021

He feels the Apocalypse is very pertinent to our times because of the issues of 2021. Having lived through war in Europe as a child and the aftermath and being an immigrant to Canada, he has experienced a lot of challenging things, but he feels the current climate is much worse.

“This is what is happening today,” he said. “The destruction internationally. We hear about it and we see it.”

The images of the Apocalypse and end times have followed him for 70 years and he always knew he would have to create this painting. To be able to complete it has been incredibly significant for him.

“Off and on I thought I would have to paint this,” he said. “I wanted to do it 10 years ago when I turned 75 but the time was not right.”

Coming to 2021, the time was right in many ways.

“You know, with the isolation and the pandemic, it all adds to this,” he said.

Many of the images in his work can be seen to be repeated in earlier pieces and the Apocalypse painting is no exception. 

“Horses have been a theme before but not as dramatic as this,” he said.

He used a cross he had seen while living in the East Coast which commemorates the expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia as the inspiration for his cross.

The ravens are a frequent theme and found here as well, with two vastly different images. The right symbolizes the more militant faction in Israel while the left is the moderates, he explained.

“The ravens pass on information,” he said. “They are known in folklore to pass on information.”

The different stars and their colours also have symbolism to him.

“Perhaps the black is Judas who betrayed Christ,” he said. “You just go from day to day and eventually it is a finished work.”

Looking at the piece anew, Mr. Guilhauman is as enthralled by what he sees as someone seeing it for the first time.

“I am proud of this because at my age I pulled it off,” he said.

Still in good health, he walks, mows his lawn and believes in eating healthily and cold showers. He knows he will still paint, perhaps some commission pieces or smaller works, but this is a significant painting for him.

“Perhaps it could be my last work,” he said. “If there is such a thing as a last work, it should have a message. In many ways I cannot go beyond this.”

The apocalypse is a fitting end for him and reflects his faith and a message to the viewing public of judgement and the importance of faith.

“I thank God every day I can still do what I do,” he said.

With paintings displayed and owned by collectors around the world, he hopes this piece will one day find a suitable spot. Surrounded by his private collection in his studio, he paints, enjoys the beauty of nature and reflects on what might be next.

“The Last Supper?” he said. “Mentally and physically, I could do that, but it would be a big piece and I would need a sponsor.”

From the twinkle in his eye when he considers planning that as a possible subsequent masterpiece, it is clear the artist’s vision is still there.

“Maybe for my 95^th birthday?” he said. “Who knows.”