127 x 78 cm Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona The archangel Michael was, like St. George the dragon-killer, one of the typically warlike saints so greatly approved in the age of chivalry. The Bible tells us that he fought with Satan for the body of Moses and we can read in the Apocalypse how he defeated the dragon with seven heads and ten horns. St. Michael was therefore looked upon as one of the principal patrons of the Church who, having overcome Satan, could protect all innocent souls from the Devil. This painting illustrates the somewhat provincial style of Juan de la Abadia of Huesca. The heritage of the Trecento can be seen in the delicate, girlish countenance of the saint and the brilliant tints of the wings, but blended with it is the elegance associated with the International Gothic style. The figures are wooden and lifeless and the artist's limited knowledge of anatomy may be seen in his representation of the soul; but the carefully arranged pattern of the floor creates the illusion of space, indicating that the artist was aware of the later developments of Gothic art and was to some extent influenced by early Renaissance art. , ABADIA, Juan de la , The Archangel Michael , 1451-1500 , Spanish , painting , religious
Painting ID:: 64921
Hans Memling Netherlandish Northern Renaissance Painter, ca.1435-1494
Born in Seligenstadt, near Frankfurt in the Middle Rhein region, it is believed that Memling served his apprenticeship at Mainz or Cologne, and later worked in the Netherlands under Rogier van der Weyden (c. 1455?C1460). He then went to Bruges around 1465.
There is an apocryphical story that he was a wounded at the Battle of Nancy, sheltered and cured by the Hospitallers at Bruges, and that to show his gratitude he refused payment for a picture he had painted for them. Memling did indeed paint for the Hospitallers, but he painted several pictures for them, in 1479 and 1480, and it is likely that he was known to his patrons of St John, prior to the Battle of Nancy.
Memling is connected with military operations only in a distant sense. His name appears on a list of subscribers to the loan which was raised by Maximilian I of Austria, to defend against hostilities towards France in 1480. In 1477, when he was incorrectly claimed to have been killed, he was under contract to create an altarpiece for the gild-chapel of the booksellers of Bruges. This altarpiece, under the name of the Seven Griefs of Mary, is now in the Gallery of Turin. It is one of the fine creations of his more mature period. It is not inferior in any way to those of 1479 in the hospital of St. John, which for their part are hardly less interesting as illustrative of the master's power than The Last Judgment which can be found since the 1470s in the St. Mary's Church, Gda??sk. Critical opinion has been unanimous in assigning this altarpiece to Memling. This affirms that Memling was a resident and a skilled artist at Bruges in 1473; for the Last Judgment was undoubtedly painted and sold to a merchant at Bruges, who shipped it there on board of a vessel bound to the Mediterranean, which was captured by Danzig privateer Paul Beneke in that very year. This purchase of his pictures by an agent of the Medici demonstrates that he had a considerable reputation. The Archangel Michael Date c. 1479(1479)
Medium Oil on wood
Dimensions Height: 37 cm (14.6 in). Width: 16 cm (6.3 in).
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