Der Höllensturz. Erzengel Michael im Kampf mit Luzifer
c. 1490
on displayHans Leu the Elder, unsettled attributionc. 1460 Baden – before 1507 Zürich
We have 5 artworks by The Younger Zurich Carnation Master [Nelkenmeister] online.
We have 5 artworks by Hans Leu the Elder online.
We have 1824 paintings online.
We have 1824 paintings online.
The four panels, which turned up in a Polish castle around 1920, form the outside and inside of two wings of a large Michael altar. The frames are original; a superelevation in the middle of 37 cm width each was lost. When the panels were split, 'Höllensturz'suffered great losses; the upper part of the mantle is largely a reconstruction (2002).
It depicts the fall of Lucifer and his flocks into hell. The highest of the angels, who had assumed equality with God, is thus punished by Archangel Michael.
The attribution to Hans Leu is based on the close stylistic similarity to the later panels with the city's patron saints in the Landesmuseum.
Also known as
Fall of the Rebel Angels
La Chute des anges rebelles (L'Archange saint Michel luttant sontre Lucifer)
Medium
Tempera on canvas on pinewood
Dimensions
image: 169.5 x 116.5 cm
Inventory number
1952
Credit line
Kunsthaus Zürich, Gottfried Keller Foundation, Federal Office of Culture, Berne, 1929