The Archangel Michael Vanquishing the Devil (Front view, post-conservation)

The subject of the archangel Michael vanquishing the Devil comes from the book of Revelation and was popular during the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance. The composition of this roundel is after a 1510 woodcut by the artist Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen (ca. 1475-1533) of Amsterdam. Here, the stained glass painter has faithfully copied the dramatic representation of the two figures from the print, and has added details of an expansive landscape with buildings of a northern European character. This was in the tradition of the so-called “Weltlandschaft” (World-landscape) symbolizing the global implications of Saint Michael’s deed. This panel is notable for the delicacy of the painting, with fine stippling and picked-out highlights, and for the sophisticated use of silver stain, which ranges from subtle shades of lemon-yellow to more strident tones of fiery-orange.