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Saint Michael
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Wearing gothic armor and a spectacular cape, the Archangel Michael prepares to strike down two demons with a broadsword. As the leader of the battle against Satan in Saint John’s vision of the Apocalypse, Michael exemplified the medieval belief that angels fought every day to protect people from sinful temptation, characterized here by the face leering from the devil’s belly directly at the viewer.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineSaint Michael, 1450–67. Master ES (German, active 1450–67). Engraving; sheet: 13.7 x 9 cm (5 3/8 x 3 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Grace Rainey Rogers Fund, 1948.457
