Psychostasy Of The Archangel Michael, Luca Giordano (naples, 1634 - 1705)

Luca Giordano (Naples, 1634 - 1705) workshop of

Psychostasy of the Archangel Michael, or the Weighing of Souls
(probable preparatory sketch)

Oil on canvas
58 x 43 cm.
Framed 73 x 61 cm.

Full details of the painting (click HERE)

The subject of this fascinating canvas is taken from the Last Judgement, an extremely rare and particularly popular theme in painting as it allowed for contorted poses, convulsive and sudden movements, pathos and drama in compositions animated by sumptuous theatricality.

In particular, here we see psychostasy, or the weighing of souls by the fighting St Michael: the Archangel is depicted in his armour with wings outstretched, his right arm outstretched to hold a pole from which hangs a scale, which he will use to assess the merits of the souls examined.

This Christian tradition derives from the ancient Egyptian religion, where the dead were subjected to a weighing of the heart by the God Anubis before being allowed to enter the afterlife: if the response was in favour, Osiris welcomed the soul, defined as pure, into the ‘Fields of Rushes.

On the basis of the book of Revelation, he therefore had the power to sift souls before the Last Judgement: we see one picked up by an angel to be taken to heaven, with God the Father and Christ at the top welcoming the chosen souls into Paradise.

While for the elect there will be the ascent into heaven, for the damned the fall into hell, where the figures writhe as they fall into the flames.

The structure of the painting clearly indicates that we are dealing with a valuable preparatory sketch, presumably a study for a fresco or larger altarpiece; this suggests that the final work was intended for the decoration of the bay of a church or private chapel.

It is a work that reflects the characteristics of the Neapolitan school in the late 17th and early 18th century: the warm and luminous colours, the clear and soft colour range and the fast but precise brushstrokes are elements that lead us, in particular, to the production of Luca Giordano and the large group of his pupils.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The work sold is completed by an attractive gilded wooden frame and comes with a certificate of authenticity and guarantee.

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