Artwork
The Fall of the Rebel Angels
The Fall of the Rebel Angels is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Luca Giordano. It dates from 1660 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
This is a big, dramatic painting of angels falling—it’s called *The Fall of the Rebel Angels* by Luca Giordano.
This is a big, dramatic painting of angels falling—it’s called *The Fall of the Rebel Angels* by Luca Giordano. The artist painted it in oil around 1666. Now it lives at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
It’s over 13 feet wide, so you really feel the chaos in the scene. The painting shows a heavenly battle, with angels tumbling out of the sky.
If you like this kind of swirling action, look up the technique called impasto next.
Overview
Luca Giordano’s oil on canvas The Fall of the Rebel Angels dates to around 1666. Measuring roughly 419 cm by 283 cm, the work occupies a monumental scale that immerses the viewer in a turbulent celestial scene. It is part of the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it remains on display.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts the moment when rebellious angels are cast out of heaven, a narrative drawn from biblical tradition. Giordano arranges a multitude of figures in dynamic motion, emphasizing the chaos of the celestial battle and the contrast between divine order and fallen disorder.
Technique & Style
Executed in the late Baroque idiom, the painting showcases Giordano’s vigorous brushwork and dramatic chiaroscuro. Thick applications of oil paint create a sense of depth and movement, while the swirling forms and intense lighting amplify the emotional intensity typical of the period’s theatrical visual language.
History & Provenance
Created in the mid‑1660s, the canvas entered the imperial collection of the Habsburgs before being transferred to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where it has been housed since the museum’s foundation. Documentation traces its ownership through the Austrian court archives, confirming its continuous public display for over three centuries.
Context
Giordano, a prolific Neapolitan painter, was known for synthesizing influences from Caravaggio, Rubens, and the Venetian school. This work reflects his capacity to merge vigorous composition with luminous color, situating the painting within the broader Baroque fascination with dramatic religious narratives and the visual representation of spiritual conflict.
Artist & collection
Artist
Luca Giordano was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Giordano was one of the most celebrated artists of the Neapolitan Baroque, whose vast output included altarpieces, mythological paintings and…
