St. Michael Vanquishing the Devils

When some of the angels rose up against God, the Archangel Michael cast them into the abyss of hell. The distorted faces of the defeated angels (now become devils) crying out in desperation demonstrate the crass realism of the Spanish-Neapolitan court painter Jusepe de Ribera. Ribera’s palette, in turn, was influenced by Venetian painting, and this can be seen in the subtle coloration of St. Michael. It is not known for which church the altarpiece was originally intended. In the late 18th century it was taken from Vienna’s Minorite Church to the imperial picture gallery.