Cavaliere d’Arpino
Roman, 1568–1640

Archangel Michael and the Rebel Angels, 1592–93 ca.
Oil on tin leaf(?)-coated copper
22 13/16 x 16 1/2"

Glasgow Museums, Archibald McLellan Collection, purchased 1856
153

COMMENTS

This painting is by Giuseppe Cesari, an artist better known by his honorary title, Il Cavalier d’Arpino. It is executed using oil paints on a copper panel. The scene shows the Archangel St Michael, in the dress of a Roman warrior, driving rebel angels out of heaven. These angels had chosen to side with Lucifer, who was once an angel himself but had turned to pure evil – from then on to be known as the Devil, or Satan, and often depicted as a dragon in the context of his battle with St Michael. The subject was taken from the biblical Book of Revelation. This was a popular work, and several versions of the composition are known to have been made.

The painting dates from about 1593, and is painted in the Mannerist style. This late Renaissance art style was much influenced by the work of Michelangelo, and often features nudes in complex poses, as here, as well as bright colors and elongated proportions. The importance of this painting can be related to some explicit classical references typical of Renaissance work; for example the anatomically-detailed nudes and St Michael’s costume. The more than usual precious nature of the oil-on-copper medium in which it is carried out is also a contributory factor to its ‘special’ status as an artwork of the time.

- Glasgow Museums Collections Navigator
http://collections.glasgowmuseums.com/starobject.html?oid=166681

SBMA CURATORIAL LABELS

Giuseppe Cesari was the most famous, most popular artist in late 16th-century Rome. He was knighted by the pope who gave him the honorific title “Cavaliere d’Arpino.”

This little painting demonstrates why he was so popular. The swashbuckling Archangel Michael swoops in to vanquish the devil (the little dragon at lower right) and his rebel angels with the energy and brio of a ballet dancer. The cascade of falling bodies of the rebel angels shows Arpino’s skill at depicting the human body in a variety of difficult poses (many derived from Michelangelo’s Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel). The
colors are pretty and decorative, the details are exquisite. This dazzling display of virtuosity was meant to show off the Cavaliere’s skill rather than his piety. By this time, religious paintings were being made as collectibles and this painting was most likely made for a private art collector.

- Botticelli, Titian, and Beyond, 2015