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DAVID, Gerard: Altarpiece of St Michael

🖼 Altarpiece of St Michael, c. 1510
Oil on wood (centre) (each wing)
66 × 53 cm
Vienna, Austria

Luminous gold leaf and intricate detail frame Saint Michael vanquishing a demon, rendered in jewel-toned oils with meticulous Flemish precision. David's altarpiece epitomizes Northern Renaissance spirituality, its radiant heavenly realm contrasting the dark underworld below, establishing the moral hierarchy central to religious art.

The story of art
The story of art
E. H. Gombrich
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