L'Apocalypse (Edition latine) Saint Michel terrassant le Dragon (Bartsch 72), GDUT4125

Archangel Michael thrusts a spear into the throat of a monstrous dragon while other angels engage in combat with swords and bows. Below this chaotic celestial struggle, a meticulously detailed and peaceful landscape features a fortified town, a church spire, and ships on a body of water. The work captures the dramatic conflict between the forces of heaven and the primordial dragon as described in the Book of Revelation.

As part of Dürer's 'Apocalypse' series, this image captures the millenarian anxieties of the late 15th century. In the Western esoteric tradition, Michael is often interpreted as a solar figure of divine justice and the protector of the soul, representing the triumph of spiritual light over the 'draconic' or chaotic impulses of the lower nature.