Follower of Guido Reni, XVIII century.

Follower of GUIDO RENI (Calvenzano di Vergato, Bologna, 1575 - Bologna, 1642); Italy, 18th century.
"St. Michael defeating the devil".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It has a frame of the nineteenth century.
Measurements: 100 x 69 cm; 129 x 96 cm (frame).
Painting of Italian school and baroque period, inspired by the homonymous work of Guido Reni. It is a period version, in which the author respects the baroque and dynamic composition of the master. The painting, like Reni's, shows St. Michael the Archangel in Roman armor, stepping on the head of Satan, who appears as a grotesque and almost caricatured figure. The original work is in the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini in Rome, Italy. The contrast between good and evil, light and darkness, is highlighted through dramatic chiaroscuro, a characteristic technique of the Baroque period. The archangel St. Michael is an important figure in Jewish, Islamic and Catholic traditions, known as the leader of the heavenly armies.
The undisputed master of Roman-Bolognese classicism along with Albani and Domenichino, Guido Reni was undoubtedly the best of the three. Closely linked to the Carracci family and to the city of Bologna, they all had a similar trajectory. They trained in Bologna with Denys Calvaert, and then moved on to the Accademia degli Incamminati, directed by Ludovico Carraci. In 1600 Reni arrived in Rome, where he worked with Annibale Carracci in the Farnese Gallery. His best period begins in these years; in 1609, at Annibale's death, Reni remains as the head of the classicist school. In the city he will be protected by Scipione Borghese, the future Pope Paul V, for whom the painter will realize one of his most important works, "La Aurora" (Palazzo Rospigliosi). It shows something that will always be characteristic of Reni's style, his admiration for ancient sculpture. Starting from the classical statues, he develops an ideal of beauty and perfection that will be much admired by the following painters. In 1614 he returned to Bologna for good. Reni's style evolves in a clear direction, more and more sculptural and cold, more and more fully classicist. His mature work will be characterized by a cold palette, with silvery reflections. Finally, from the thirties onwards, his style became sketchy, with an unfinished appearance and a tendency towards monochrome, of great interest from a technical as well as formal point of view.
Guido Reni is currently represented in the most important art galleries around the world, including the Prado Museum, the Hermitage, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York and the National Gallery in London, among many others.