BRUEGEL, Pieter the Elder
(b. ca. 1525, Brogel, d. 1569, Brussel)

The Fall of the Rebel Angels (detail)

1562
Oil on oak
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

The Archangel Michael, portrayed in golden-brown armour in the middle of the picture, is driving the angels who have rebelled against God out of Heaven. The angels in white garments are fighting on his side, while those who have broken away from God are metamorphosing into the mostly naked bodies of fantastic figures.