San Michele Arcangelo
Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 - 1642) Bottega/Seguace
The Archangel Michael
Guido Reni (Bologna 1575–1642) Follower of
17th–18th century
Oil on canvas
134 x 96 cm.
In frame 147 x 108 cm.
The work in question, of excellent quality and in fine condition, is based on Guido Reni’s famous altarpiece depicting Saint Michael the Archangel, painted in 1635 for the Church of the Capuchins in Rome (photo 1 **), built thanks to a donation by Cardinal Antonio Barberini (1569–1646), brother of Urban VIII.
The great painter travelled to Rome in 1602, following an intensive period of training in Bologna, and soon became a renowned 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.
The painting depicts the majestic figure of Saint Michael the Archangel, here engaged in battle against Evil, represented as a youth of rare beauty, strong yet delicate at the same time, who, with his sword drawn, casts an irate devil back into hell, trampling the devil’s head underfoot. The soft drapery envelops the angel’s body with an intense classicism, where a balanced composition directs the viewer’s attention to his angelic face.
The painting received great recognition and esteem from his contemporaries, and was an immediate and incredible success, partly due to the controversy it sparked amongst the Pamphili family, who had long been at odds with the Barberini, the patrons of the work. Reni, having learnt that Cardinal Giovanni Battista Pamphili, the future Pope Innocent X, had slandered him, personified the Devil with the cardinal’s own face as an act of revenge.
Guido Reni’s cunning lay in exploiting the historic rivalry between two of the most influential families in 17th-century Rome for his own personal revenge, whilst at the same time securing sudden fame for his work.
Reni tackled this subject on several occasions, much to the delight of his patrons, thanks to the work’s formal clarity and compositional balance – elements that still make it one of the cornerstones of Roman classicism today.
With the help of his workshop, he would often return to the same subjects, producing versions of his most successful compositions, which makes it difficult to distinguish between workshop replicas—often enhanced by his own hand—and posthumous copies that became independent reinterpretations by some of his best pupils or followers.
**Saint Michael the Archangel, 1635 - Guido Reni (Bologna, 1575 - 1642)
Oil on silk; 295x202 cm
Rome, Church of Santa Maria Immacolata Concezione
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The painting is sold complete with a gilded frame and comes with a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.
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