Lot 264: Francisco de Herrera the Younger , Seville 1612 - 1685 Madrid the triumph of Saint Michael over the devil oil on slate

oil on slate

measurements note 17 by 24.2 cm.; 6 5/8 by 9 1/2 in.

This majestic image of Saint Michael is typical of Herrera the Younger's work between 1654-1660, while he was still in Madrid or shortly after he had returned to his native Seville. His style was strongly influenced by Rubens and Titian, whose work was readily accessible in Madrid, where the young Herrera is first documented in 1650. The bright colours and free brushwork highlight the movement and power of this typically Baroque scene, in which the light comes towards us from behind the action. This, and the Rubensian music-playing angels which frame the composition, focus our attention on the central vertical line and emphasize the victory of the Saint, with God the Father looking down from above and the vanquished Devil heading for the darkness below. The painting can be compared to the Triumph of Saint Hermenegild originally commissioned for the convent church of the Discalced Carmelites in Madrid and now in the Prado, inv. no. 593.υ1 We are grateful to Prof. Alfonso Perez-Sanchez for endorsing the attribution to Herrera the Younger. 1. See J.M. Ortega Calderón, Todo el Prado, Madrid 1996, p. 217, plate 593.