The Fall of the Damned (German: Der Höllensturz der Verdammten), also known as the The Fall of the Rebel Angels, is a massive oil painting by 17th-century Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens.
Painted on oak panels and measuring 286 × 224 cm (9 ft 4.6 in × 7 ft 4.2 in), it depicts a mass of bodies of the defeated army of Satan being hurled into the abyss after their battle with the archangel Michael. The painting, or a copy of it, occupies a large wall panel in the headquarters of Sic Mundus.[1]
Analysis[]
The battle between St. Michael and the rebel angels is described in the Biblical Book of Revelation, also known as the Revelation of John or the Apocalypse of St. John, which is the final book of the Bible in most traditions of Christianity. The Book of Revelation describes the final battle between good and evil at the end of the world, hence the adoption of the word apocalypse to refer to the end times in English (in Greek, it means revelation or unveiling). This fits with Adam's vision to bring about the end by destroying time.
Behind the scenes[]
The real painting is part of the permanent collection of the Alte Pinakothek museum in Munich, Bavaria. It was the subject of an acid attack in 1959 by a Walter Menzl, a philosopher who had been unsuccessful in promoting his ideas about utopian universal peace.
References[]
- ↑ Dark Season 2 Episode 1: "Beginnings and Endings"