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St. Michael Vanquishing Satan (Raphael)
Encyclopedia
St. Michael Vanquishing Satan is a painting
by the Italian
High Renaissance
painter Raphael
.
It is a large-scale and mature version of a subject he had earlier treated in the youthful miniature of St. Michael
. Both works are located in the Louvre
in Paris
, France
.
at the behest of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro
, Duke of Urbino. The miniature was completed in 1504 or 1505 on the back of a draughtboard
, possibly commissioned to express appreciation to Louis XII of France
for conferring the Order of Saint Michael
on Francesco Maria I della Rovere
, Urbino's nephew and heir. A little more than a decade after completing the little St. Michael, Raphael was commissioned to revisit the theme, producing St. Michael Vanquishing Satan for Pope Leo X
.
Raphael's contemporary, Sebastiano of Venice, wrote Michelangelo
in July of the year the painting was completed to complain of the coloring of the work, suggesting that the figure looked smoky or made of iron because of the exaggerated contrast between the two sides. This may have been the hand of Giulio Romano
, who according to art historian Eugene Muntz
overused black in a heavy-handed fashion to "obtain a more powerful effect." To deal with coloring issues, the painting was restored
in 1537-1540 by Francesco Primaticcio
. Following further restoration in 1685, it was first transferred to canvas from wood in 1753.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
High Renaissance
High Renaissance
The expression High Renaissance, in art history, is a periodizing convention used to denote the apogee of the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance...
painter Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
.
It is a large-scale and mature version of a subject he had earlier treated in the youthful miniature of St. Michael
St. Michael (Raphael)
St. Michael is an oil painting by Italian artist Raphael. Also called the Little St. Michael to distinguish it from a larger, later treatment of the same theme, St. Michael Vanquishing Satan, it is housed in the Louvre in Paris. The work depicts the Archangel Michael in combat with the demons of...
. Both works are located in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
History
Raphael first visited the subject of MichaelMichael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
at the behest of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro
Guidobaldo da Montefeltro
thumb|240px|Portrait of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro by [[Raphael]].Guidobaldo da Montefeltro , also known as Guidobaldo I, was an Italian condottiero and the Duke of Urbino from 1482 to 1508.-Biography:...
, Duke of Urbino. The miniature was completed in 1504 or 1505 on the back of a draughtboard
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
, possibly commissioned to express appreciation to Louis XII of France
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
for conferring the Order of Saint Michael
Order of Saint Michael
The Order of Saint Michael was a French chivalric order, founded by Louis XI of France in 1469, in competitive response to the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece founded by Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, Louis' chief competitor for the allegiance of the great houses of France, the Dukes of...
on Francesco Maria I della Rovere
Francesco Maria I della Rovere
Francesco Maria I della Rovere was an Italian condottiero, who was Duke of Urbino from 1508 until 1538.- Biography :...
, Urbino's nephew and heir. A little more than a decade after completing the little St. Michael, Raphael was commissioned to revisit the theme, producing St. Michael Vanquishing Satan for Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
.
Raphael's contemporary, Sebastiano of Venice, wrote Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
in July of the year the painting was completed to complain of the coloring of the work, suggesting that the figure looked smoky or made of iron because of the exaggerated contrast between the two sides. This may have been the hand of Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano was an Italian painter and architect. A pupil of Raphael, his stylistic deviations from high Renaissance classicism help define the 16th-century style known as Mannerism...
, who according to art historian Eugene Muntz
Eugène Müntz
Eugène Müntz was an Alsatian-born French art historian.He was a professor of the history of art at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, where he lectured from 1885 to 1893...
overused black in a heavy-handed fashion to "obtain a more powerful effect." To deal with coloring issues, the painting was restored
Painting restoration
Painting restoration is the art and science of restoring old and/or damaged paintings back to their original or a near-original state. This may include "resetting" a painting if it is set on damaged wood. Also "relining" the painting: attaching a new canvas to the back of the painting, if the...
in 1537-1540 by Francesco Primaticcio
Francesco Primaticcio
Francesco Primaticcio was an Italian Mannerist painter, architect and sculptor who spent most of his career in France.-Biography:...
. Following further restoration in 1685, it was first transferred to canvas from wood in 1753.