Week #13 Response Paper. Visual & Performing Arts Essay

Name:
Artwork: St. Michael Vanquishing Satan
Artist: Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino alias Raphael
Date Created: 1518
Current Location: Louvre in Paris
St. Michael Vanquishing Satan is a painting by Raphael, an Italian painter, and architect. He was very respected and is art was admired for its ease of composition and clarity of form. During his career, he left a huge body of work that was consequently stored in the Vatican Palace. One of the works he did was the famous painting of St. Michael Vanquishing Satan. Raphael first met the subject of Michael at the behest of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino. A miniature of the painting was done in 1504 or 1505 on the back of the draught board and was known as little St. Michael. It was said to be commissioned as appreciation to Louis XII of France for granting Urbino's nephew and heir Francesco Maria I Della Rovere, the Order of Saint Michael. The work’s theme of St. Michael Vanquishing Satan was commissioned a decade later for Pope Leo X.
The painting was done during the High Renaissance which was a short period of art history, especially in Rome. The period High Renaissance is said to have started around 1495 or 1500 and ended in 1520 coinciding with the death of Raphael. Others say that it ended in 1527, with the Sack of Rome by the troops of Charles V. The artwork of this period was largely dominated by Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci where they excelled and mastered techniques to portray the human figure. CITATION The201 \l 1033 (The High Renaissance) Raphael was excellent in his use of color to create a perspective and mesmerizing contrast. In St. Michael Vanquishing Satan, the contrast is created by his delicate use of color. He utilizes black ink to create a smoky and soot effect that creates beautiful shadows and allows for sharper contrast with the brighter colors. The painting contains intricate use of yellow, gold, orange especially on the skin and St Michael’s cloak. This creates a metallic effect which made the artwork of this period less technical and more beauty centered. One of the reasons for this was that artists let go of tempera paint and started using oil paints which made it easier for them to manipulate and create softer shades and forms.
Yes, I find the painting very beautiful and inspirational due to Raphael’s intricate use of color in his work. The details on the St Michael's wings especially are well done. Not only are they big and gorgeous, t...