Focus on this artwork and explore the abstract.
St. Michael Vanquishing Satan is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael. The image consists of the archangel Michael standing on top of Satan's back with his right foot.  Both works have been located in the Louvre in Paris since 1667. The painting was commissioned by Pope Leo X.
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 being skillful at creating space within his compositions as well as movement captured at a stand still. Techniques that were 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.
Michael Raphael Academie royale de peinture et de sculpture Pope Leo X High Renaissance classicism Charles Le Brun Satan Louvre Christian Paris Renaissance art archangel