The Fall of the Damned
We see a cascade of bodies falling through the central point of the painting, a heavenly light shining from the left hand top corner of the piece. The Archangel Michael (you can spot him as he is in a blue tunic and red cape with a weapon and a shield) appears to be driving the bodies downwards with assistance of other winged angels.
The bodies are contorted and naked, some are of a larger frame, while others look almost seductive in form, indicating gluttony and lust from the seven deadly sins. As you look amongst the bodies, you can see winged creatures, different from the angels, with their beautiful feathered wings; rather more leathery and dragon like. As your eye moves down the canvas, you will see more creature, looking monstrous; horned and clawed they look like paganistic mythological beings, dragging the bodies down and tearing at their flesh. The bottom of the painting is a dark turmoil of the falling meeting their fate with the darkest of the monsters.
This painting has also been known as “The Fall of the Rebel Angels”, which would indicate that this is the moment that Lucifer is cast out of Heaven, with all the angels that backed him. They have lost their wings and are shown with some of the sins to indicate their reduced status in the eyes of God.
Rubens’ pallet and use of chiaroscuro (the technique of using light to contract dark) really gives movement and drama to the painting, it almost feels like a waterfall as the bodies cascade down, the demons creating the bubbling plunge basin. There is no denying that this is a dramatic tale being laid out for audiences as a reason not to sin.
