Saint Michael The Archangel Workshop Of Guido Reni (1575–1642)

Saint Michael the Archangel
Workshop of Guido Reni (1575–1642)

First half of the 17th century

Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 132 x 90 cm.
With frame: 143 x 102 cm.

Full details of the work (click HERE)

The Saint Michael the Archangel depicted in this splendid painting faithfully reproduces, in great detail, the work created by Guido Reni in 1635 for the Church of the Capuchins, in the heart of Via Veneto in Rome. The church was built thanks to a donation by Cardinal Antonio Barberini (1569–1646), brother of Urban VIII, for the benefit of the Order of the Capuchin Friars; it was the cardinal himself who commissioned the altarpiece from Guido Reni, who, at the height of his artistic maturity and fame, had by then settled in Bologna, where he painted the canvas and sent it to Rome.

Given the period in which it was painted and its high quality, the painting in question is certainly the work of an artist from Reni’s prolific workshop, who was still active in the first half of the 17th century, presumably one of his able collaborators.

The Archangel Michael, engaged in the battle against Evil, is depicted as a youth of rare beauty, strong yet delicate, who, with his sword drawn, casts an angry devil back into hell, trampling the devil’s head underfoot.

The soft, colourful drapery envelops the angel’s body in an intense classicism within a balanced composition that highlights the celestial beauty of the angelic face, magnificently rendered in our version as well.

Guido Reni travelled to Rome in 1602, following a long period of training in Bologna, to enrich his artistic repertoire: here, as in his native Bologna, he was already renowned as an interpreter of the tastes of the most culturally influential circles, winning the patronage of prominent figures such as Popes Paul V, Urban VIII and Scipione Borghese.

Such was the recognition and esteem of his contemporaries that the painting enjoyed immediate and incredible success, thanks in part to the controversy it sparked: a well-known rumour of the time suggested that Reni had modelled Satan’s face on Cardinal Giovanni Battista Pamphili (the future Pope Innocent X), with whom the painter had had serious disagreements.

Guido Reni’s cunning lay in exploiting the historic rivalry between two of the most influential Roman families of the 17th century, the Barberini and the Pamphili, for his own personal revenge, whilst at the same time bringing his work sudden fame.

Very good condition, with scattered restorations on the painted surface.


Guido Reni, St Michael the Archangel Defeating Satan
1635, oil on silk, 293×202 cm
Church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, Rome


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

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