The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
The Archangel Michael Piercing the Dragon
c. 1475
(German, c.1450–1491)
Mat Size: 49 x 36.3 cm (19 5/16 x 14 5/16 in.); Platemark: 16.2 x 11.5 cm (6 3/8 x 4 1/2 in.)
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1952.99
Catalogue raisonné: Lehrs V.273.63
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
The dragon of this print resembles monsters in another engraving by Martin Schongauer, The Temptation of Saint Anthony (1923.227).Description
The Archangel Michael is the victorious defender and leader of God's armies, who battled against Satan the dragon and the rebellious angels to expel them from heaven (Revelation 12:7–9). From the narrative of this apocalyptic combat, Martin Schongauer isolates the figure of the Archangel Michael in the very moment he is finally overcoming Satan by trampling and piercing it with a long spear. He portrayed the dragon as a hybrid creature with horns, bird talons, crayfish claws, snake-like tail, and fur. Its ugliness and spiky forms contrast with the graceful feathery wings of the archangel, whose perfectly curled hair is set with a cruciform diadem adorned with pearls. Schongauer isolated the subject against a blank background, using a system of hatching to render complex drapery folds. In late medieval devotion, images of the Archangel Michael vanquishing the dragon were believed to be a protective tool that warded off evil.- Medieval Monsters: Terrors, Aliens, Wonders. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 7-October 6, 2019).Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 2-August 2, 1987).Prints 1400-1800. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 18, 1956-January 20, 1957); The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (February 1-March 3, 1957); Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN (November 1-December 1, 1957).
- {{cite web|title=The Archangel Michael Piercing the Dragon|url=false|author=Martin Schongauer|year=c. 1475|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.99