1624
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Seven Archangels (recto) is a 1624 by Massimo Stanzione, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see seven winged figures standing in a row, each holding a different object—a sword, a lily, a scale. Stanzione drew this as a study for a larger painting. The faces are calm, almost serene, unlike the dramatic shadows you’d find in other Italian art of the time. It’s a quiet moment before the angels take action. Look up *chiaroscuro* to see how light and dark shapes these figures—and how other artists pushed the effect further.
Massimo Stanzione worked in the Spanish-held Kingdom of Naples, where, during the 17th century, painting was characterized by dramatic expression, emphatic naturalism, and intense chiaroscuro derived from the profound influence of Caravaggio (1571-1610). Stanzione, however, was known in the city as one of the main purveyors of a more classical style, a kind of antithesis to the passion and drama of such Neapolitan painters as Jusepe de Ribera. This drawing relates directly to a painting Stanzione made depicting the seven archangels at the Monasterio de la Descalzas Reales in Madrid. The…
The Archangel Michael is shown at the center of the composition, surrounded by six more archangels, from left to right, Gabriel, Uriel, Jehudiel, Barachiel, Selathiel, and Raphael.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Massimo Stanzione (also called Stanzioni; Frattamaggiore 1585 – Naples 1656) was an Italian Baroque painter, mainly active in Naples, where he and his rival Jusepe de Ribera dominated the painting scene for several decades.
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