St. Michael (Raphael)

St. Michael (Raphael)

Infobox Painting|



title=St. Michael
artist=Raphael
year=c. 1505
type=Oil on wood
height=31
width=27
city=Paris
museum=Louvre

"St. Michael" is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance painter Raphael (c. 1505). It is housed in the Louvre in Paris.

In a bleak landscape with the silhouette of a burning city in the distance, St. Michael has just forced the Devil to the ground and is about to kill him with a blow from his sword. The monsters crawling out from all sides are reminiscent of those created by Hieronymus Bosch, while the figures in the centre recall those from the Inferno of Dante's epic poem the "Divine Comedy". On the left are the hypocrites in leaden coats, condemned to follow their torturous path, while on the right are the thieves being tormented by serpents.

The St. Michael and St. George in the Louvre, and the St. George of the National Gallery of Art in Washington are bound together both by their subject - an armed youth fighting a dragon - and by stylistic elements. All three are assigned to the Florentine period and echo those stimuli which Raphael received from the great masters who worked in Florence or whose paintings were visible there. The influence of Leonardo - whose fighting warriors from the "Battle of Anghiari" (1505) in the Palazzo della Signoria provided an extraordinary example of martial art (the painting deteriorated very rapidly because of shortcomings in Leonardo's experimental technique and so is no longer visible) - predominates in these works. But references to Flemish painting suggest the environment of Urbino, where Northern influences were still quite vivid.

Raphael's imagination which is particularly developed in the details of the St. Michael, is more balanced in the figure of the Archangel, the focus of the entire composition. This sense of balance and composure is developed further in the other two panels, where the landscape, still of Umbrian derivation, accentuates the serenity of the figures, notwithstanding the dramatic character of the subject. These small panels are indicative of a moment in which the painter gathers the stylistic fruits of what he has assimilated so far and, at the same time, poses pictorial problems which will be developed in the future.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Michael Raphael — Infobox Musical artist Name = Michael Raphael Born = birth date and age|1968|2|8 Origin = San Francisco, California, USA Instrument = Guitar, Vocals, drums, Bass Genre = Pop/Rock/Pop punk/Rock Occupation = Musician/Producer/Songwriter Years… …   Wikipedia

  • Michael (Erzengel) — Höllensturz, Altarbild in Tittmoning von Rottmayr 1697 Michael (hebräisch ‏מיכאל‎; lateinisch Quis ut Deus; arabisch ‏ …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Raphael Poiree — Raphaël Poirée Voller Name Raphaël Poirée Verband …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Raphael Poirée — Raphaël Poirée Voller Name Raphaël Poirée Verband …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Raphael (1483-1520) —     Raphael     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Raphael     The most famous name in the history of painting, b. at Urbino, 6 April (or 28 March), 1483; d. at Rome, 6 April, 1520. He belongs to the Umbrian School. Raphael is only a Christian name, the… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Michael Greis — Personal information Full name Michael Greis Born August 18, 1976 (1976 08 18) …   Wikipedia

  • Michael Greis — Voller Name Michael Greis Verband …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Raphael (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) — Raphael Raphael, the team s rebel . Publication information Publisher Mirage Studios …   Wikipedia

  • Raphael Gross — (* 1966 in Zürich) ist ein Schweizer Historiker.[1] Er ist Universitätsprofessor der Geschichte sowie in vielen jüdischen Institutionen leitend tätig. Er ist auch mit einigen Publikationen zur deutsch jüdischen Geschichte und zum Holocaust… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Raphael Wolf —  Spielerinformationen Geburtstag 6. Juni 1988 Geburtsort …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”