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Michael Vanquishing Satan (Painting) by Raphael

Raphael was an Italian painter and architect of the high renaissance period. His work is notable
for ease of composition, visual achievement, Neoplatonic ideal of human form, and clarity of
style. Critics rank his work as among the best together with other masters of the period such as
Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
Clarity in an artwork is essential as it ensures that the object is bright enough and does not leave
the viewer wondering its identity. In artwork, some effects are difficult to produce and yet retain

the clarity of the painting. While art endeavors to reproduce some elements of nature, it is not
possible to reproduce it with a great degree of fidelity while retaining clarity. Classical artists,
therefore, saw art and nature as separate entities that only intersected at certain points.
In St. Michael Vanquishing Satan painting, the object is clear. It follows the rules of form clarity.
The painting has a clear linear clarity, which means the artist clearly delineated the shape and
rendered the contents of the shape (Rubin, 1994). The tone of the artwork is also used carefully.
The tone is evident on the perimeter and the contents of the shape of the artwork. Clarity is
apparent when the viewer can interpret the plastic form of an image. Clarity is further achieved
using lines or by the tonal planes. Within the clarity concept, there is no room for different
viewer interpretations. The clearer the image, the greater its clarity, meaning it renders itself to a
unique interpretation. Again, the element of clarity is evident given how visible the image is to
interpretation. The Angel Michael is in conflict with the devil, and he is triumphant. There is
little room for a different interpretation.
During painting, an artist can accidentally render one form only for a viewer to interpret it
otherwise. For instance, the head of a person can appear like a mountain. Such imprecise
rendering causes pictorial clarity problem. Within an image, the viewer can even see other
images within it. While the artist may intentionally create such images, i.e. images within an
image, such cases are often due to clarity problem. The uses of tones, lines, total planes, etc., are
used wrongly.
Raphael completed the painting using an oil compound as it typical in most of his works. He
insisted and preferred using oil compounds like luminous skin, lustrous jewelry and glossy hair
instead of medium (tempera). Like Michelangelo, his insistence on using the new and exotic
materials in his work appeared as arrogance or a sign of artistic independence.
Either way, it is clear that Raphael is one of the most creative, gifted and original artists and
having these gifts required him to be authentic and unique hence his style of using oil paint
instead of tempera, which was familiar with notable painters.
However, it is clear from his paintings that styles of men like Michelangelo are evident
suggesting that he adored their paintings and probably used their work as inspiration.
Raphael works immense originality, creativity, complexity in their sense of movement and the
various expressions and gestures it possesses. The painting of Pope Julius II and his illegitimate
daughter is a case in point. In this image, it is also rich in expressions and poses.
The painting of Michael vanquishing the devil expresses dynamism, ranking him of the few
artists of his period able to express originality, creativity and subtle and natural poses in their
artworks. The pose by the angel is natural and dynamic. It is what one would expect for a victor
standing over a fallen enemy. The pose is original and subtle.

Like most of the artists of his period, Raphael paintings were religious, probably because of his
religious affiliation as a Catholic and lived in a world dominated by Catholic worldview
(Dunkelman, 2002). Some of his painting also demonstrates a show of clarity of color in the
gothic tradition. The painting of the Pope Julius II paints the pope as a simple man, just as Jesus
appears in many painting as a simple person full of humanity. Vanquishing Satan departs from
simplicity theme and shows the majesty of the power of the angel Michael.
The image shows the power and the majesty of God through the angel. However, a close look at
the face of the angel shows mild expression. The face of the angel is not contorted in fury or
hatred. It evident that even this paintings, he meant it for meditation, and he does that by
managing to exhibit simplicity coupled with bliss, emotion, and majesty.
Like Leonardo, this work evokes very different emotions as compared to those of earlier
painters. Firstly, Raphael is considered one of the artists who pioneered incorporation of both
originality and creativity in painting, without always revolving around color in gothic fashion
and tradition.
The most identifiable thing about the art is the ability of the writer to portray simplicity. The pose
by the angel is natural.
In this painting, it is evident that the artist is trying to bring out a preexisting form to the fore.
The angel represents the good and the devil the bad (Baker-Bates, 2011). Also, the lack of hatred
in the expression of the angel communicates inherent goodness of the angel even in the contest
with the devil. The face of the devil is not seen, which represent the absence of truth and the
elements of goodness.
References
Baker-Bates, P. (2011). Beyond Rome: Sebastiano Del Piombo as a painter of diplomatic gifts.
Renaissance Studies, 27(1), 51-72. doi:10.1111/j.1477-4658.2011.00770.x
Dunkelman, M. (2002). The World of the Early Sienese Painter. Hayden B. J. Maginnis, Gabriele
Erasmi. Renaissance Quarterly, 55(2), 692-693. doi:10.2307/1262326
Rubin, P. (1994). Raphael and the Rhetoric of Art. Renaissance Rhetoric, 165-182.
doi:10.1007/978-1-349-23144-7_9

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