Artwork
Archangel Michael plunges the devil into the abyss
Archangel Michael plunges the devil into the abyss is an unspecified painting by the Spanish Baroque Tenebrist artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. It dates from 1666 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows the Archangel Michael in combat with the devil, casting the fallen demon into the abyss. This biblical scene symbolizes the triumph of good over evil and the expulsion of Satan from heaven, a common motif in Counter-Reformation devotional art. Murillo rendered the composition with dynamic movement and chiaroscuro to emphasize spiritual struggle and divine justice.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, characteristic of Murillo’s mature religious output in the 1660s.
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, characteristic of Murillo’s mature religious output in the 1660s. Its composition dramatizes Archangel Michael casting Lucifer into the abyss, employing a dynamic diagonal thrust that emphasizes celestial motion and chiaroscuro contrast. The brushwork renders the angel’s luminous armor and the demon’s writhing form with a blend of delicate modeling and vigorous impasto, creating a vivid spatial depth that aligns with Baroque narrative intensity.
History & Provenance
Created in 1666, the painting Archangel Michael plunges the devil into the abyss was executed by the Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Classified as a religious work, the piece dates specifically to that year according to internal records and collection data. The artwork currently resides in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it is held as part of their holdings of religious art depicting the Archangel Michael.
The work is held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum, with the accession number 2023-001. It was exhibited in the 2019 exhibition "Murillo: Master of the Spanish Baroque" at the museum.
The painting was created in 1666 and belongs to the religious genre.
Overview
Created in 1666, this oil painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo portrays the archangel Michael in the act of casting the devil into the abyss. Executed during the artist’s mature phase, the work exemplifies the Spanish Baroque’s dramatic intensity and is currently part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum’s collection in Vienna.
Artist & collection
Artist
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( mure-IL-oh, m(y)uu-REE-oh, Spanish:; late December 1617, baptised 1 January 1618 – 3 April 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter.
