Michaël onderwerpt de duivel 1645 - 1668

Editor: Here we have "Michael Subduing the Devil," an engraving by Adriaen Millaert, likely created sometime between 1645 and 1668. I'm immediately struck by the dramatic contrast of light and dark and how dynamic it is! What kind of story do you think this image is trying to tell? Curator: Ah, yes. It leaps off the page, doesn’t it? To me, this engraving vibrates with the baroque era’s love of theatrics and religious fervor. Saint Michael, all armored might and heavenly glow, stands triumphant. What captures *my* imagination isn’t just the vanquishing, but the weight of that moment. It’s the point of recognizing ultimate victory, the very embodiment of virtue crushing wickedness – all expressed with the light! But isn't it curious that the Devil isn't the monster you might imagine? What do you think about his humanized face and body? Editor: That’s interesting; it almost looks like the Devil is an ordinary guy in immense pain and torment. So it makes you think about the humanity that's present in darkness? Curator: Exactly! Millaert isn’t giving us a simple morality play, but perhaps inviting us to confront the idea that even darkness carries a shard of something we can identify with, which could add layers to how we percieve good and evil in the artwork, even within ourselves! Editor: It's so thought-provoking. I guess I went in expecting a simple, obvious narrative and am leaving with… well, so much more to consider! Curator: Me too. Each time, there's a feeling I carry in the work for longer afterwards. It isn't so much just *looking* as feeling like it looked *back*.