Saint Michael the Archangel in Western paintings

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3. an angelic warrior, fully armed with helmet, sword, and shield
standing over a serpent, a dragon, Satan
holding a pair of scales in which he weighs the souls

4. Saint Michael the Archangel
in Western paintings

7. the Archangel Michael triumphant after his cosmic battle with the devil …
dressed in armor, with large elaborate wings,
a pair of scales, hanging on the tree stump, a symbol of Michael’s role in the judgement
of souls after death
and
the devil: his long, curved horn is hooked over Michael’s foot, his black wing
against his shield
Pietro Perugino, Le Pérugin
The Archangel Michael
L’archange saint Michel
1496-1500
National Gallery, London

11. the Archangel Saint Michael, aided by another angel, weights the souls …
the Saint holds the scale with his left hand and,
with the spear that he wields in his right, he threatens the Devil
that tries to cheat by tilting the spare to his favor
Juan de la Abadia
Saint Michael Weighing Souls
Saint Michel pesant les âmes
1490
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona

15. four cherubs playing trumpets call the dead to their final destination ...
the Archangel Michael, resplendent in his white robe scarlet cloak, impassively
weighs the resurrected;
(...unusually for Christian art, the damned outweigh the blessed)
the saved walk towards the gates of Heaven where they are greeted by a saint;
the damned arrive at the mouth of Hell and fall enmasse into damnation
St Michael, prince of the heavenly hosts is pictured as young, because he is
immortal and as handsome, because he is the embodiment of divine justice ...
and
looks directly at the observer, giving the illusion of judging not only the souls
in the painting but also the viewer
Rogier van der Weyden
Le Jugement dernier
The Last JudgmentPolyptych
1446-52
Musée de l'Hôtel-Dieu, Beaune

19. Michael holds the scale and with the spear tries to put the devil out of combat.
The demon is depicted with a bull's head and open jaws.
One of the arms as well as the inferior extremities, reminiscent of eagles' claws.
The right arm of the scales is inclined and descends, because of the force exerted
by the hand of the devil that tries to take possession of the souls to take them
to hell.
Juan de Sevilla, El Hispalense
Saint Michael Archangel
Saint Michel Archange
1480
Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, Sevilla

23. St Michael holding the scales in his right hand, he uses the crosier in his left
to prick the flesh of the damned soul, as if to prod him towards the mouth of hell …
(the sinner in Michael's right-hand scale pan is a donor portrait of Tommaso Portinari)
Hans Memling
Last Judgment, central panel
Le Jugement dernier, panneau central
1467-1471
Muzeum Narodowe, Gdansk

27. Archangel Michael,
spread and wearing a shiny gold armor,
his cape, as if suspended in mid-air, forms a magnificent drape;
he holds a shield upon which we can make out a red Latin cross on a white
background –a symbol of the Resurrection;
the right foot rests on the stomach of the seven-headed monster described
in Apocalypse;
the dragon's contorted movement, with his belly to the sky
and seven heads thrown back, already hints at what is to come.
...
Brandishing his sword above his head, Saint Michael slays the Apocalyptic dragon
before hurling him and the fallen angels to the depths of hell.
In the background, an infernal spiral of demonic people pours down.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Pieter Brueghel l'Ancien
The Fall of the Rebel Angels
La Chute des anges rebelles
1562
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

28. "And there was war in heaven Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon fought
and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon
was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveththe whole world: he was cast
out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
(Apocalypse 12:7)

34. Michael has just forced the Devil to the ground and is about to kill him
with a blow from his sword ...
a bleak landscape,
a burning city in the distance,
the monsters crawling out from all sides are reminiscent of those created
by Hieronymus Bosch,
the figures in the centrerecall those from the Inferno of Dante's epic poem
the Divine Comedy,
the hypocrites in leaden coats, condemned to follow their torturous path,
the thieves being tormented by serpents
Raphael, Raphaël
Saint Michel et le Dragon, Petit saint Michel
Saint Michael
1503-1505
Musée du Louvre, Paris

38. a beautiful, youthful soldier ...
a precious armor,
a graceful tunic,
beautiful boots decorated by with tiny pearls
and
the severed head of the devil, represented as a snake with pointy ears
Piero della Francesca
Polyptych of St Augustine: St Michael
Polyptyque de Saint Augustin: Archange saint Michel
1470
National Gallery, London

42. ... armed with a coat of mail, dagger, shield, and lance, the archangel Michael
symbolizes the triumph over evil;
the demon at his feet is the Antichrist, cast out of heaven.
The youthful beauty and sumptuous raiment of Saint Michael in the rich courtly
setting combine with the image of the demon to form a stark visual contrast
between the strength and splendor of the Church and the monstrousness
of evil defeated.
Master of Belmonte, Maître de Belmonte
Saint Michael
Saint Michel
1450–1500
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Collection, New York

46. Michael stabbing the dragon ...
an apocalyptic vision,
a walled and smoking city is reflected in its decorative shield
Juan de Flandes
Saints Michel et François d'Assise
Saint Michael and Francis
1505
Metropolitan Museum of Artm, Manhattan, New York

50. trampling Satan ...
the Archangel Michael dressed in a late Roman military cloak and cuirass
two figures that have come to the end of a terrible and violent struggle
in which one has finally been subdued
a battle between good and evil and darkness and light,
the fallen one, Satan, has been subjugated and defeated by the Archangel Michael
the background is as tumultuous as the battle between the two figures,
with swirling clouds and flames licking at their heels
Guido Reni
Archangel Michael tramples Satan
Archange Michel terrassant le Satan
1630-1635
Santa Maria della Concezione, Rome

51. The head of the devil, flattened under the heel of the leader of the celestial army, looks strangely
like Innocent X. Clan Pamphilj...
(the pope was known to hate and criticize the work of Guido Reni)

54. the contrast between the devil's ugliness and the angel's delicate and elegant features ...
the Prince of Angels grabs Lucifer’s head with his left hand,
the monster waits for the fall of the sword of Saint Michael
Juan de la Abadía (the Elder, l'Ancien)
San Miguel Arcangel
Saint Michael
Archange saint Michel
1486
Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid

58. St Michael as a fighting priest in clerical attire waging battle against two demons
at his side kneels a nun of the Potterieconvent in Bruges,
in the habit of an Augustine nun
Master of the Bruges Legend of St. Ursula,
Maître de la Légende de sainte Ursule
St Michael Fighting Demons
Saint Michel combattant les démons
1480-1500
Museum Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Potterie, Bruges

61. an almost rococo Christian knight …
Luca Giordano
Saint Michael
Saint Michel
1663
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

64. Michael and his two principal roles: weigherof souls on Judgment Day
and destroyer of Satan
Satan appears as a fantastic two-faced monster ready to capture another soul
Pedro García de Benavarre
Saint Michael Archangel
Archange saint Michel
1470
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

67. Michael stands on top of the devil with one leg while holding up his spear
to deliver a strike to his head.
His wings are depicted open while the devil's are closed signifying defeat.
Raphael, Raphaël
Saint Michel terrassant le démon dit Grand saint Michel
St. Michael VanquishingSatan
1518
Musée du Louvre, Paris

70. an angelic warrior who personifies the splendor of heaven itself:
gilded plates encrusted with gemstones,
the breastplate, belt and sword sheath covered with green silk velvet,
a pearl diadem sits on his forehead,
the golden breastplate reflects the Gothic spires of Heavenly Jerusalem, the celestial city
described in the Book of Revelation.
an winged demon, a hideous echo of the warrior-angel, reminding the viewer that devils were
once angels:
red eyes,
horns and gaping mouth,
armouredand reptilian body,
contorted limbs,
and
whole torso is another face, with eyes for nipples and snakes slithering from a mouth in its belly,
clawed tail curls around the saint’s armouredleg
the donor Antoni Joan, lord of Tous:
heavy gold chain and sword nestled in the crook of his arm identifying him as a knight
Bartolomé Bermejo
Saint Michael Triumphs over the Devil
Saint Michel triomphant du diable avec le donateur Antoni Joan
1468
National Gallery, London

77. olga_oes
Saint Michael the Archangel in Western paintings
Saint Michel Archange dans la peinture occidentale
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