About the Artwork
In this life-size sculpture, the Archangel Michael’s golden robe sweeps dramatically around his body while his calm face contrasts with the grimacing devil beneath his feet. This statue was commissioned for the altarpiece of the palace chapel of Saint Michael at the center of the castle of Harburg in the present-day German state of Bavaria. The castle was home to the Counts of Oettingen-Wallerstein, a prominent knightly family for whom the archangel served as a protector and model of ideal knighthood.
This exceptional sculpture remained at Harburg for over five hundred years, resulting in the extraordinary preservation of its brilliant original gilding and polychromy. It is part of a closely related group of vibrantly painted and gilt sculptures carved between 1480 and 1500, whose style and identical tool marks attest to their creation in the same workshop.
Saint Michael Vanquishing the Devil
ca. 1480
Workshop of the Harburg Master
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German
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Limewood with well preserved polychromy
Overall: 64 15/16 × 26 × 15 3/4 inches (165 × 66 × 40 cm)
Sculpture
European Sculpture and Dec Arts
Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, with funds from the Visiting Committee for European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
2020.1
Public Domain
Markings
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Provenance
about 1480-1731, Counts zu Oettingen-Oettingen, Chapel of St. Michael, Burg Harburg (Harbug, Bavaria, Germany);1731, by descent to the Counts (later Princes) zu Oettingen-Wallerstein, Chapel of St. Michael, Burg Harburg (Harbug, Bavaria, Germany);
1991, by descent to Moritz, 8th Prince zu Oettingen-Wallerstein [b. 1946], Chapel of St. Michael, Burg Harburg (Harbug, Bavaria, Germany);
about 2000-2020, sold to (Alexander Rudigier Ltd., London, England);
2020-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
"Detroit Institute of Arts adds works to Native American collection, new works by women artists." Artdaily. https://artdaily.cc/news/131545/Detroit-Institute-of-Arts-adds-works-to-Native-American-collection--new-works-by-women-artists#.YYQ0NWDMKUm. (Accessed on November 4, 2021).
Weniger, Matthias. “Saint Michael from Harburg Castle and Workshop Practices in Early Renaissance Southern Germany.” Bulletin of the DIA 95, no. 1 (2021): pp. 20-39; (fig. 1) p. 20; (fig. 4-5a) pp. 24-25; (detail fig. 8) p. 27; (fig. 11a, 12a, 14a, 15a) pp. 30-31.
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Workshop of the Harburg Master, Saint Michael Vanquishing the Devil, ca. 1480, limewood with well preserved polychromy. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, with funds from the Visiting Committee for European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, 2020.1.
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