Sebastiano Ricci, “The Fall of the Rebel Angels”, 1720, Oil on Canvas, 82 x 68 cm, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London
Born in August of 1659, Sebastiano Ricci, an Italian painter of the late Baroque school of Venice, enjoyed an international reputation. He worked all over Italy, Austria, France, and England, primarily painting walls and ceilings with decorative schemes. Ricci’s patrons included Anne, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, and Lord Burlington, who commissioned Ricci for eight canvases of mythological frolics.
In his 1720 “The Fall of the Rebel Angels”, Sebastiano Ricci portrays the War in Heaven, as described in the Bible’s Book of Revelation 12,2-9. Archangel Michael leads the angels of Heaven against the rebel angels, who follow Satan. Ricci portrays, with great exuberance, the moment when Saint Michael drives the fallen angels from Heaven. The light radiating from the upper left quadrant illuminates St. Michael while casting the fallen angels into darkness, offering a poignant juxtaposition between virtue and vice.
There are five drawings relating to this composition at the Royal Library of Windsor Castle and one drawing in the Galleria dell’ Accademia in Venice.