Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan

Common card · No. 296132

Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael. It shows the archangel Michael standing on top of Satan's back with his right foot. The painting was commissioned by Pope Leo X and has been located in the Louvre in Paris since 1667. This painting has symbolic meaning within the Christian religion as it symbolizes God triumphing over evil. Raphael had a gift for creating images that evoked divinity in a subtle way and was known for being skillful at creating space within his compositions as well as movement captured at a standstill. Techniques used by Raphael were adopted at the Academie royale de peinture et de sculpture by Charles Le Brun as the foundation of French classicism. Raphael as an artist was known to stand his ground even against popes and cardinals. Having a father who was also an artist, he had the upper hand with navigating the art field.

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