Raffaello, san michele (grande), 1518, 02

This detail focuses on the fallen figure of Satan, depicted with human-like musculature but possessing horns and scorched wings. Above him, the foot of Saint Michael is seen pressing down on the demon's back, asserting divine dominance. In the dark background, small flames emerge from crevices in the jagged earth.

This scene embodies the celestial hierarchy where angels act as the supreme agents of divine order. In the Renaissance Neoplatonic tradition, the defeat of the demon symbolizes the victory of spiritual reason over the base, material desires and chaotic impulses of the lower soul.