Statue of St. Michael. 1750. University of Bonn. Photo: Public Domain Wikimedia Commons
“The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” ~ Joseph Conrad, Under Western Eyes (1911)
By Nina Heyn – Your Culture Scout
The struggle between the forces of good and evil lies at the root of all religions. In India, one of the most important Hindu religious celebrations of the year is Diwali, which symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.” On the third day of this festival, homes are lit with thousands of lights, and the streets fill with celebrations devoted to the goddess Lakshmi.
Lakshmi statue at the Diwali festival in India. Photo: Tarikul Raana. Unsplash.
In later religions, the role of a divine protector of humans has been assigned to Archangel Michael. He is believed to be the force of good not only in all forms of Christianity but also in Islam (as Mikail, the archangel of mercy) and Judaism (as a defender of the Israel tribes). In all these religions, a human need to believe in a merciful defender has overcome any attempts by theological purists to dispense with this divine protector. Naturally, such a powerful personification of good overcoming evil has found its way into art. From about 4th century AD, when Archangel Michael started being widely venerated, there have been images of this sword-armed angel stomping over a writhing devil.
St. Michael and the Dragon. Valencian artist active in Italy, around 1405. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photo: Open Access Public Domain Collection
In medieval and early Renaissance iconography, the archangel is a knight, fully clad in shining armor, a supernatural version of the local warrior that would lord over church worshippers in a village. His adversary is equally supernatural—a devil imagined and portrayed according to an artist’s ability.
Here is a wonderful detail from a panel by Spanish Renaissance painter Bartolomé Bermejo. The devil has scales, pointy teeth on two sets of jaws, red shining eyes (also two sets), and a large red tongue. Evil is something very concrete—easy to scare children and gullible masses.
St. Michael Triumphs over the Devil. Bartolomé Bermejo, 1468. National Gallery, London. Photo: Public Domain Wikimedia Commons
One of the most popular representations of St. Michael’s victory over the evil incarnated is a painting by Baroque artist Guido Reni. This image has been copied by artists and rendered in folk and commercial illustrations for centuries. The original is still in the Roman church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Capucini, for which it was commissioned in the early 17th century. There is a story that the face of the Satan here resembles the features of the Roman Cardinal Pamphili (later to become Pope Innocent X), an opponent of Reni’s patrons. Reni had a persecution mania, and he felt that the Cardinal had slighted him, so he took his revenge in the artistic form. Regardless, it is interesting to see that Satan in this picture is no longer a medieval dragon, not even a classic Satan with horns and membrane wings as painted about a century earlier by Raphael. By Reni’s time, Satan is very human. “Hell is other people,” as Jean-Paul Sartre noticed in No Exit.
St. Michael Defeats Satan. Guido Reni, 1630-36. Santa Maria della Concezione dei Capucini, Rome. Photo: Public Domain Wikimedia Commons
Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan. Raphael, 1518. The Louvre, Paris. Photo: Public Domain Wikimedia Commons
One of the most popular meeting areas in Paris for tourists visiting the Sainte-Chapelle and for students from the nearby Sorbonne University is a large and dramatic St. Michael’s Fountain. Both a landmark and a favorite meeting point, this structure was created during Haussmann’s remodel of the city in the mid-19th century, decorating a wide boulevard opening toward the river. Again, this Satan face is very human—by the 19th century, there was no doubt that evil is best personified by a fellow man.
Fontaine St. Michel, Paris. 1858-60. Photo credit: xiquinhosilva at Wikimedia Commons Public Domain
In the last two hundred years, angels and devils have become less popular in artistic representations of the eternal struggle between forces of good and bad. Human conflicts—more bloodthirsty with each new war—have supplanted the religious images in paintings.
Francisco Goya’s painting from 1814 entitled The Third of May 1808, one of the most famous masterpieces of Spanish Romanticism, is a perfect illustration of the conflict that is now entirely left to humans. The painting portrays brutal reprisals of the French army against Spanish freedom fighters in the 1808 resistance against the Napoleonic army. This emotional and dramatic scene has become a famous example of artistic commentary on the violence of war. From the point of view of art, this canvas is venerated for its masterful juxtaposition of a white shirt and desperate gestures of the prisoners bathed in glaring light, and the impassive block of stiff bodies of the execution squad. In fact, this painting was a source of inspiration for equally famous works by Edouard Manet, such as The Execution of the Emperor Maximilian of Mexico painted in 1867, and Picasso’s Massacre in Korea painted in 1951.
The Third of May 1808. Francisco Goya, 1814. The Prado, Madrid. Photo: Public Domain Wikimedia Commons
Secular paintings had to find other ways of portraying evil than a horned beast. Images of war have replaced the old-fashioned fallen angel with much scarier portrayals of brutality inflicted by men over their fellow men.
Sanamu ya Mtakatifu Michael. 1750. - Ukurasa wa kwanza. Chuo Kikuu cha Bonn. "Kutokana na ""Ukosefu wa Uaminifu"" katika Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi wa Uongozi." Katika India, moja ya sherehe muhimu zaidi za kidini za Kihindu za mwaka ni Diwali, ambayo inaashiria kiroho <unk> ushindi wa nuru juu ya giza, wema juu ya uovu, na maarifa juu ya ujinga.<unk> Siku ya tatu ya sherehe hii, nyumba huangazwa na maelfu ya taa, na barabara hujazwa na sherehe zilizowekwa wakfu kwa mungu Lakshmi. Sanamu ya Lakshmi katika tamasha la Diwali nchini India. Picha: Tarikul Raana. Unsplash. (Usianguke) Katika dini za baadaye, jukumu la mlinzi wa kimungu wa wanadamu limetolewa kwa Malaika Mkuu Mikaeli. Anaaminiwa kuwa nguvu ya wema sio tu katika aina zote za Ukristo lakini pia katika Uislamu (kama Mikael, malaika mkuu wa rehema) na Dini ya Kiyahudi (kama mtetezi wa makabila ya Israeli). Katika dini hizi zote, uhitaji wa binadamu wa kuamini katika mlinzi mwenye rehema umeshinda majaribio yoyote ya wataalamu wa theolojia wa kuondoa mlinzi huyu wa kimungu. Kwa kawaida, ufananisho wenye nguvu kama huo wa wema unaoshinda uovu umepata njia yake katika sanaa. Tangu karne ya nne KK, wakati malaika mkuu Mikaeli alipoanza kuheshimiwa sana, kulikuwa na picha za malaika huyu mwenye upanga akipiga kwa miguu ibilisi anayetembea kwa nguvu. Mtakatifu Michael na joka. Mchoraji wa Valencian aliyefanya kazi nchini Italia, karibu 1405. Jumba la Makumbusho la Sanaa la Metropolitan, New York. Katika iconography ya enzi za kati na mapema Renaissance, malaika mkuu ni knight, kikamilifu amevaa silaha ya kung'aa, toleo la supernatural ya wapiganaji wa ndani ambayo ingekuwa bwana juu ya waabudu kanisa katika kijiji. Mpinzani wake ni sawa supernatural - shetani walidhani na kuonyeshwa kulingana na uwezo wa msanii. Hapa kuna maelezo mazuri kutoka kwa jopo la mchoraji wa Renaissance wa Hispania Bartolomé Bermejo. Ibilisi ana magamba, meno yenye ncha kwenye taya mbili, macho mekundu yenye kung'aa (pia yana seti mbili), na ulimi mkubwa mwekundu. Uovu ni kitu halisi sana - rahisi kuogopesha watoto na watu wengi wenye kuamini tu. Mtakatifu Michael Anashinda Ibilisi. Bartolomé Bermejo, 1468 Jumba la sanaa la Taifa, London. Picha: Public Domain Wikimedia Commons Moja ya uwakilishi maarufu zaidi wa ushindi wa Mtakatifu Michael juu ya uovu uliojiingiza ni mchoro wa msanii wa Baroque Guido Reni. Picha hiyo imekopwa na wasanii na kutumiwa katika michoro ya watu na ya kibiashara kwa karne nyingi. Mfano wa kwanza wa kanisa hilo ni kanisa la Roma la Santa Maria della Concezione dei Capucini, ambalo lilijengwa mapema karne ya 17. Kuna hadithi kwamba uso wa Shetani hapa unafanana na sifa za Kardinali wa Roma Pamphili (baadaye kuwa Papa Innocent X), mpinzani wa walinzi wa Reni. Reni alikuwa na mania ya kumtesa, na alihisi kwamba Kadinali alikuwa amemdharau, kwa hiyo alilipiza kisasi chake katika namna ya kisanii. Hata hivyo, ni jambo la kushangaza kuona kwamba Shetani katika picha hii si joka la enzi za kati, wala si Shetani wa kawaida mwenye pembe na mabawa ya utando kama alivyochorwa karne moja hivi mapema na Raphael. Kufikia wakati wa Reni, Shetani ni mwanadamu sana. "Helamu ni watu wengine", kama Jean-Paul Sartre alivyosema katika kitabu No Exit. Mtakatifu Michael Anamshinda Shetani. Guido Reni, 1630 - 1636 Santa Maria della Concezione dei Capucini, Roma, Italia Picha: Public Domain Wikimedia Commons Mtakatifu Michael Anashinda Shetani. Raphael, mwaka wa 1518. Jumba la Louvre, Paris Moja ya maeneo maarufu ya mkutano katika Paris kwa watalii kutembelea Sainte-Chapelle na kwa wanafunzi kutoka karibu Sorbonne Chuo Kikuu ni kubwa na ya kuvutia St. Michael's Fountain. Mji huo ulikuwa maarufu sana wakati wa ujenzi wa Haussmann katikati ya karne ya 19, na ulijengwa kwa njia ya barabara pana kuelekea mto. Kwa mara nyingine tena, uso huu wa Shetani ni wa kibinadamu sana - na karne ya 19, hakukuwa na shaka kwamba uovu unawakilishwa vizuri na mwanadamu mwenzake. Fontaine St. Michel, Paris. 1858 - 60 ya miaka ya kwanza. "Mfano: ""Mungu"" ni jina la kihistoria la kihistoria la ulimwengu wa kisasa, na kwa miaka 200 iliyopita, malaika na mashetani wamekuwa chini ya umaarufu katika uwakilishi wa kisanii wa mapambano ya milele kati ya nguvu za mema na mabaya." Mapigano ya kibinadamu - yenye umwagaji-damu zaidi kila vita kipya - yamebadilisha picha za kidini katika michoro. "Picha ya Francisco Goya ya 1814 ""The Third of May"" ya 1808 ni mojawapo ya michoro maarufu zaidi ya Uhispania ya kimapenzi, na inaonyesha kabisa vita ambavyo sasa vimeachwa kabisa kwa wanadamu." Picha hiyo inaonyesha jinsi jeshi la Ufaransa lilivyoshambulia wapiganaji wa uhuru wa Hispania katika mapigano ya mwaka 1808 dhidi ya jeshi la Napoleon. Mandhari hiyo yenye kuchochea hisia na yenye kuvutia imekuwa kielelezo maarufu cha ufafanuzi wa kisanii juu ya jeuri ya vita. "Kutoka kwa mtazamo wa sanaa, mchoro huu unaheshimiwa kwa sababu ya ""kuunganisha kwa ustadi"" kwa shati jeupe na ishara za kukata tamaa za wafungwa walioguswa na mwanga mkali, na kundi la mwili wa mgonjwa wa kuuawa." "Mchoro huo uliongoza kwenye kazi maarufu za Edouard Manet, kama vile ""The Execution of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico"" iliyochorwa mwaka 1867 na ""The Massacre in Korea"" iliyochorwa mwaka 1951." Tarehe 3 Mei, 1808 Francisco Goya, 1814 Prado, Madrid Picha: Public Domain Wikimedia Commons Michoro ya kilimwengu ililazimika kupata njia nyingine za kuelezea uovu kuliko mnyama mwenye pembe. Picha za vita zimebadilisha malaika aliyeanguka wa zamani na picha zenye kuogopesha zaidi za ukatili unaofanywa na wanadamu dhidi ya wenzao.