Artwork
Michael Archistrategos
Michael Archistrategos is a tempera painting by the Realist artist Pyotr Petrovich Zabolotsky. It dates from 1857 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1857, this tempera work by Pyotr Petrovich Zabolotsky portrays a winged figure in a dramatic celestial setting. The composition is framed by an elaborate ornamental border and is currently part of the State Hermitage Museum’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is an angelic being clothed in a vivid red robe and a white skirt, its expansive wings spanning the upper portion of the canvas. In the right hand the figure grasps a sword, while the left hand is lifted upward, suggesting a gesture of command or blessing amid a turbulent sky.
Technique & Style
Executed in tempera, the painting displays the medium’s characteristic flat, matte surface and precise brushwork. Zabolotsky employs a limited palette of reds, whites, and muted earth tones to contrast the luminous figure against a backdrop of stormy clouds and a dark, fiery landscape below, enhancing the work’s dramatic tension.
History & Provenance
The piece was completed in the mid‑nineteenth century and entered the State Hermitage Museum’s holdings, where it remains on display. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s broader effort to represent Russian religious and mythological painting of the period.
Artist & collection
Artist
Pyotr Petrovich Zabolotsky (1842–2000) was an artist, born in Saint Petersburg.
