id: 130334 accession number: 1952.99 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.99 updated: The Archangel Michael Piercing the Dragon, c. 1475. Martin Schongauer (German, c.1450–1491). Engraving; mat size: 49 x 36.3 cm (19 5/16 x 14 5/16 in.); platemark: 16.2 x 11.5 cm (6 3/8 x 4 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Dudley P. Allen Fund 1952.99 title: The Archangel Michael Piercing the Dragon title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1475 creation date earliest: 1470 creation date latest: 1480 current location: creditline: Dudley P. Allen Fund copyright: --- culture: Germany, 15th century technique: engraving department: Prints collection: PR - Engraving type: Print find spot: catalogue raisonne: Lehrs V.273.63 --- CREATORS * Martin Schongauer (German, c.1450–1491) - artist Martin Schongauer (ca. 1450-53, Colmar - 2 February 1491, Breisach) was one of the most skilled and influential graphic artists of Europe in the last quarter of the 15h century. Trained both as an engraver and as a painter, Schongauer started his apprenticeship under his father Caspar Schongauer, a goldsmith from Augsburg. In 1465, he matriculated at the University of Leipzig. After one year, he left his studies, and came back to Colmar. There, he was trained under the painter Caspar Isenmann, between 1466 and 1469. Schongauer later traveled down to the Rhine, Cologne, Burgundy, the Netherlands, and he likely visited Spain. In 1489, he became a citizen of Breisach, where he died probably of the plague in 1491. Only a few of Schongauer's paintings survive. Among these is the Madonna in the Rose Garden for the Church of Saint Martin in Colmar (1473), which betrays Schongauer's admiration for the works by the Netherlandish painter Roger Van der Weyden. The bulk of Schongauer's engravings is more conspicuous: 116 prints, none of them dated, but all marked by his monogram M+S. Characterized by exquisite cross-hatching and impeccable craftsmanship, Schongauer's engravings were widely imitated by the German printmakers Ishrael van Meckenem and Albrecht Durer, as well as by Italian artists, such as Cristoforo Robetta and Nicoletto da Modena. --- measurements: Mat Size: 49 x 36.3 cm (19 5/16 x 14 5/16 in.); Platemark: 16.2 x 11.5 cm (6 3/8 x 4 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Prints 1400-1800 opening date: 1956-12-18T05:00:00 Prints 1400-1800. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 18, 1956-January 10, 1957); The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (February 1-March 3, 1957); Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN (November 1-December 1, 1957). title: Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints opening date: 1987-06-02T04:00:00 Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 2-August 2, 1987). title: Medieval Monsters: Terrors, Aliens, Wonders opening date: 2019-07-07T04:00:00 Medieval Monsters: Terrors, Aliens, Wonders. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 7-October 6, 2019). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: The dragon of this print resembles monsters in another engraving by Martin Schongauer, The Temptation of Saint Anthony (1923.227). digital description: The Archangel Michael is the victorious defender and leader of God's armies, who battled against Satan the dragon and the rebellious angels to expel them from heaven (Revelation 12:7–9). From the narrative of this apocalyptic combat, Martin Schongauer isolates the figure of the Archangel Michael in the very moment he is finally overcoming Satan by trampling and piercing it with a long spear. He portrayed the dragon as a hybrid creature with horns, bird talons, crayfish claws, snake-like tail, and fur. Its ugliness and spiky forms contrast with the graceful feathery wings of the archangel, whose perfectly curled hair is set with a cruciform diadem adorned with pearls. Schongauer isolated the subject against a blank background, using a system of hatching to render complex drapery folds. In late medieval devotion, images of the Archangel Michael vanquishing the dragon were believed to be a protective tool that warded off evil. wall description: This engraving depicts the archangel Michael energetically piercing the mouth of a particularly hideous demon with his lance. A fallen angel from the war in heaven, the demon is now helpless and defeated on the ground. As he cuts down the writhing demon snarling at his feet, the saint bears a serene expression and elegant pose. This potent symbol of good triumphing over evil was much repeated in medieval art. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.99/1952.99_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.99/1952.99_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1952.99/1952.99_full.tif