Saint Michael

Bronzino's Saint Michael presents the archangel captain of the heavenly hosts with the cool sculptural precision that distinguishes all this Florentine Mannerist's figure work. Michael, the warrior archangel who defeated Lucifer and who weighs souls at the Last Judgment, was among the most frequently depicted archangels in Italian art, his martial beauty and divine authority making him an ideal subject for both devotional and decorative contexts. Bronzino's version gives the archangel the refined physical beauty and detached aristocratic bearing characteristic of his portrait style, the armor and sword rendered with the precision of a Florentine goldsmith.

Bronzino's early manner is evident in the luminous flesh tones, cool palette, and refined linear precision that would distinguish his mature Mannerist style from Pontormo's more emotionally turbulent approach.