Madonna and Child and St. John the Evangelist and St. Michael

Giovanni Ambrogio Figino

Download hi-res image TITLE Madonna and Child and St. John the Evangelist and St. Michael
AUTHOR Giovanni Ambrogio Figino
DATE 1588
OBJECT TYPE AND MATERIAL Oil on canvas
DIMENSIONS cm 314 x 175
INVENTORY 477
ROOM XV
Work on display

The painting’s loose composition is built on counterpoint. A Virgin with strong, plain features watches unmoved on a throne of clouds as St. Michael defeats the Devil, whom we glimpse in the right-hand corner. St. John, whose face has given Figino a place among Caravaggio’s Lombard forerunners, looks at the Virgin but points to the struggle between the Archangel and Satan which he was to describe in the Apocalypse, a perfect subject for a venue that was more political than religious.