God's warrior angel with a Message- (Jose Gonzalez)

Part of a larger fresco from a cathedral in Faras, Sudan, Michael is portrayed as one of Mary and baby Jesus’ bodyguards. He wears the traditional Byzantine imperial clothing of the time. He holds a round object in his left hand signifying God as the true ruler of the world. The trumpet in his right hand signifies Michael as the announcer for the second coming of Jesus Christ during the final judgment. This fresco was located in an area where worshipers would go to ask for their sins to be forgiven. The artist painted Michael in subdued colors and taking his form to the basic elements. The lines are thick, delineating the body, wings, and face without adding any intricate detail. Michael is seen standing there, statuesque in nature, holding out the round object ready to act in a moment’s notice.

In this page from a German manuscript, Michael the Archangel is seen at the moment before he kills the dragon (Satan) as described in the Bible’s description of the Apocalypse. This painting introduces Psalm 51, which is about God winning over the wicked. Michael is dressed in red making him the focal point of the painting. The artist creatively used the tail of the dragon along with the demons creating the circle to form an elegant letter Q. The artist used color to help focus the viewer’s attention on what is important in the painting. The blues compliment the reds and balance the piece out. Michael is dynamic, capturing his posture right before he plunges his spear into the dragon.

This painting of Michael the Archangel from the Middle Ages depicts him in a suit of armor, as opposed to the robes he wore in earlier pieces. His form is muscular, embodying the physique of a warrior. His facial expression is serious, capturing the emotion of combat. Andres Marzal chose to portray the dragon as a grotesque humanoid beast, with two faces, instead of the classical reptilian type. He is more of the literal satanic demon than a dragon. Marzal uses complimentary colors to focus the viewer’s attention on Michael’s wings, which help encircle his face and halo. The dragon pops thanks to its green color. This painting is also dynamic in movement, illustrating Michael thrusting his spear completely through Satan while Satan is trying to pull it out.

This painting on the side compartment of an altarpiece once again depicts Michael as a medieval Knight in armor. The difference in this painting compared to the previous ones is the use of a sword instead of a spear. Satan is depicted as a black creature with dagger-like teeth, wearing a green and white tunic adorned with demonic heads. The painting is very intricately textured, helps separate Michael and Satan from the picture. The added relief from carving helps to add depth to the painting. This painting is also dynamic in the depiction of the two enemies in hand-to-hand combat. Michael is thrusting his sword through Satan’s head while Satan is grabbing onto the archangel and his sword.

This painting changes the role of Michael from vanquisher to judge. The iconography is whether a person’s soul is worthy to enter heaven after being evaluated by the Archangel. Michael wears a tunic and cape while holding a scale in his left hand and a spear in his right. A man and a woman are on the scale praying, while looking at the devil who is represented by a winged demon/ dragon. An angel consoles the woman dressed in white, while the naked man is being grabbed by the devil. Michael is pointing the spear at the devil to keep him at bay. He has a very stern look on his face reflecting the seriousness of the scene. The colors are the traditional complimentary colors of red and green as the primary focal point, but the rich textures in the gold background and Michael's tunic grabs the viewer’s attention more. Abadia makes Michael the largest figure in the painting therefore making him the center of attention.

Bruegel foregoes the dominant Italian models of the time, and painted “The Fall of the Rebel Angels” in Hieronymus Bosch’s style. The traitorous angels are represented as creatures, which seem to come from a child’s fairy tale, falling to earth in a massive wave attack while Michael and his army of angels fly in the sky to destroy them. Michael, in the center, is the only angel wearing armor, while the rest of the angel army is wearing gowns of different colors. The two aspects I will focus on for are color and variety. Bruegel used an elaborate pallet to define good and evil in this painting. The viewer can easily identify the angels by Bruegel’s use of bright colors to separate the angels from their adversaries. The creatures are painted in darker shades giving contrast to the brightly colored angels. Bruegel also uses brighter and darker colors to separate heaven and earth. The variety of unique creatures and angels makes this painting special for the viewer. Bruegel has combined terrestrial and sea creatures into bizarre demons. Human beings have been combined with other animals to keep a viewer entertained for a long period of time.

Michael is depicted as a messenger instead of a warrior leading an angel army This is due to Zurbaran’s rejection of the Baroque idea of Michael as a killer angel. In the painting Michael is wearing armor and holding up a shield. In his right hand he holds a sword shaped flame with an inscription written in Latin. Zurbaran uses color to make a compelling portrait of the Archangel. The bright reds, greens, and gold used in the chiaroscuro technique add depth to the figure. Zurbaran emphasizes Michael by filling the entire canvas with his form. By subduing and darkening the background, Zurbaran creates more focus on Michael.

This painting of Michael the Archangel from the Renaissance depicts him in a breastplate similar to the days of the Roman Empire, as opposed to the armor of the time. His form is muscular, the arms and legs being emphasized. His face expressionless at that moment in time while the devil’s facial expression is one of pain and agony. Theodoros depicts the devil as a dark humanoid beast with wings. The scene portrays Michael sending Satan into hell after being expelled from heaven. The artist used the colors red and gold to help focus the viewer’s attention on what is important in the painting. The gold breastplate and red cape help the viewer focus on Michael. Michael is dynamic, capturing his body position right before he sends Satan into hell.

Michael the Archangel is seen here defeating Satan by thrusting his spear into his chest. During this time, Saint Michael was idolized as a Christian knight and symbol of the Catholic church’s victory over Protestantism and the threat from Turkey. Michael does not wear any armor in this painting. Satan is depicted as human instead of a beastly creature. Giordano uses bright colors that appear to glow to focus the viewer’s attention on Michael. The dark contrast of Satan and the other fallen angels helps Michaels form stand out from the background. Giordano also painted Michael to take up the majority of the canvas making him the point of interest for the painting. His inspiration for his painting was Guido Reni’s alter panel painted around 1636. Satan’s face was based on an etching created by Jusepe de Ribera.