Saint Michael

Piero della Francesca's Saint Michael, painted around 1454 for the National Gallery, formed part of the polyptych of the Augustinian Hermits in Sansepolcro. The archangel Michael, captain of the heavenly armies, was widely venerated as a protector against evil and a guide of souls to judgment Piero della Francesca brought mathematical precision and monumental stillness to his figures, creating some of the most geometrically pure compositions in all of Renaissance painting.

The archangel is rendered with Piero's characteristic geometric clarity, the armor and wings painted with crystalline precision and the figure bathed in the clear, even light that distinguishes his unique vision.