Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan
Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan — Raphael, c.1518
Raphael, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Raphael's Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan in the Louvre is among his final masterpieces — a large panel (approximately 268 by 160 cm) painted in the last year of his life (1518-1519) as a diplomatic gift from Pope Leo X to Francis I of France. The composition shows the Archangel Michael in brilliant armour, descending from heaven on a golden cloud, his lance poised to thrust into the Satan figure writhing beneath his feet at the rocky pit of Hell.
At the lower right, the damned souls in the fire of Hell include realistic figures of pain and terror; at the upper left, the heavenly radiance from which Michael descends creates a golden light across the composition. The painting demonstrates Raphael's mature command: the spiral dynamic of the Michael figure (a spiral composition from foot to head, from the thrust lance through the torso to the wings) is a direct response to Michelangelo's late figure compositions.
The Saint Michael was one of two paintings Raphael painted in 1518 as diplomatic gifts for France (the other being the Holy Family of Francis I, also in the Louvre). Both were finished by workshop assistants after Raphael's death (April 6, 1520); the extent of Raphael's own hand in the Saint Michael versus workshop completion is debated. The spiralling figure of Michael and the landscape background are generally attributed to Raphael himself; the Hell scene at the lower right shows more workshop intervention.
The Satan figure beneath Michael's foot is depicted with anatomical specificity and emotional force: his body is specific, his expression of rage and defeat is vivid. The armoured figure of Michael above him — luminous, classical, composed — is the triumph of divine order over chaos. The golden cloud from which Michael descends connects the earthly struggle (at the bottom of the composition) to the divine realm (at the top).
When standing before this work, look carefully: Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan — Raphael, c.1518. Give it time — what seems decorative often carries the central meaning.
When standing before this work, look carefully: The spiral figure of Michael — Michelangelesque dynamism. Give it time — what seems decorative often carries the central meaning.
When standing before this work, look carefully: Satan defeated — anatomical specificity. Give it time — what seems decorative often carries the central meaning.
When standing before this work, look carefully: Hell scene — the damned souls at lower right. Give it time — what seems decorative often carries the central meaning.
Musée du Louvre, Sully Wing, Room 5, Paris.