St Michael and the Devil

Michael is depicted as a youthful, armored warrior with expansive wings, maintaining a calm demeanor as he subdues a writhing, hybrid beast. The background features a hellish environment with small figures undergoing torments, including people clad in heavy cloaks and others fleeing from serpents. A burning, distant city sits under a smoky sky, illustrating the struggle between celestial order and infernal chaos.

This painting synthesizes the Renaissance interest in celestial hierarchies with specific imagery from Dante Alighieri’s Inferno. It represents the Neoplatonic concept of the triumphant divine intellect over the chaotic, lower material world, a central theme in the philosophical circles of Raphael's time.