The motif of the "fallen angel" has fascinated artists for centuries, embodying themes of rebellion, loss, beauty, and tragedy. Often linked to the biblical figure of Lucifer, who was cast out of Heaven for defying God, this image has found profound resonance in both religious and artistic circles. Over time, the fallen angel has been represented in various ways—sometimes as a tragic hero, sometimes as a sinister figure, and often as a mixture of both. The figure’s allure lies in its complexity: a blend of divine beauty and eternal damnation. Below, we delve into some of the most iconic paintings depicting the fallen angel across different historical periods.
In this article, we shall explore a depiction of The Fallen Angel from an artistic point of view.
Who Is the Fallen Angel?
Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" doesn't appear in any Abrahamic religious texts but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven or angels who sinned.
Such angels often tempt humans to sin. Christian theology indicates the sins of fallen angels occurred before the beginning of human history. Accordingly, fallen angels became identified with those led by Lucifer in rebellion against humanity, also equated with demons.
Before the fallen angel was cast down from heaven, he used to be a high-ranking angel called Azazil, God created the fallen angel from the fires.
Worshipping God for thousands of years, the fallen angel ascended to the surface, after that, thanks to his pertinacious servitude, the fallen angel rose until he reached the company of angels in the seventh heaven.
When God created the human being and ordered the angels to bow down, the fallen angel, a jinn created from fire, refused, and disobeyed God, leading to his downfall.
In the religion of Islam, the fallen angel is often known by the epithet. Some Sufi Muslims hold a more ambivalent role of the fallen angel, considering him not simply as the Devil but also as "the true monotheist".
A Study of the Fallen Angel Paintings
“Fallen Angel” by Alexandre Cabanel (1847)
Artist: Alexandre CabanelYear: 1847Medium: Oil on CanvasLocation: Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France
Alexandre Cabanel’s Fallen Angel is perhaps the most famous painting of the subject. Painted when Cabanel was only 24 years old, it is an outstanding example of Romanticism, reflecting the 19th-century fascination with emotion, beauty, and human struggle. The work captures the moment after Lucifer’s fall, a time of intense grief and defiance.
Alexandre Cabanel (28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French painter. He painted historical, classical, and religious subjects in an academic style. He was also well-known as a portrait painter.
Cabanel entered the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris at the age of seventeen, Alexandre Cabanel painted mythological, religious, and historical subjects with François-Édouard Picot(10 October 1786 in Paris – 15 March 1868 in Paris). Alexandre Cabanel exhibited at the Paris Salon for the first time in 1844 and won the Prix de Rome scholarship in 1845 at the age of 22.
Cabanel was elected a member of the Institute in 1863. He was appointed professor at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1864 and taught there until his death. Alexandre Cabanel's 1863 painting The Birth of Venus is one of the best-known examples of 19th-century academic painting.
Cabanel was closely connected to the Paris Salon: "He was elected regularly to the Salon jury and his pupils could be counted by the hundred at the Salons. Through them, Cabanel did more than any other artist of his generation to form the character of the beautiful Epoch in French painting".
The Fallen Angel is one of the most famous art pieces by the French artist Alexandre Cabanel. It was painted in 1847, when the artist was 24 years old, and depicts the Devil after his fall from Heaven.
The painting composition embodies ideals of Academic art, mythological subject, soft light transitions, graceful modeling, silky brushwork, and perfect form. The painting is part of the collection of the Musée Fabre in Montpellier, France, and is not for sale.
In this composition, the fallen angel sits on a rock, his youthful face downcast, but his fiery eyes betray his anger and pride. His muscular body, covered in delicate, white wings, suggests the angel’s once divine nature, while the melancholic backdrop of muted tones contrasts with the bright, heavenly light that once belonged to him. The fallen angel’s emotions are complex—there’s a clear mixture of sorrow, regret, and resentment. His striking beauty, juxtaposed with his damned fate, makes this painting an evocative portrayal of the tragic consequences of defiance.
“Satan Smiting Job with Sore Boils” by William Blake (1826)
Artist: William BlakeYear: 1826Medium: Tempera on CanvasLocation: The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK
William Blake, the visionary poet and painter, was known for his unique spiritual outlook, and his portrayal of Satan reflects his philosophical beliefs about good, evil, and human suffering. In Satan Smiting Job with Sore Boils, Blake presents Satan as a fallen angel in a more destructive role.
Unlike Cabanel’s depiction, Blake’s Satan is less beautiful and more menacing. His angular figure, twisted with rage and power, leans over the figure of Job, a symbol of divine suffering. The angel’s wings are dark and tattered, signifying his fall from grace. Blake’s Satan is not an object of pity but rather a figure of malevolent influence, embodying evil's impact on human life. Blake’s visionary style, with its surreal and dreamlike qualities, amplifies the supernatural aura of the painting.
“The Fallen Angels” by Gustave Doré (1866)
Artist: Gustave DoréYear: 1866Medium: Wood engraving for Paradise LostLocation: Various publications, private collections
Gustave Doré was famous for his illustrations of literary works, and his series of engravings for John Milton’s Paradise Lost are some of the most well-known depictions of the fallen angel theme. One of the most striking illustrations is The Fallen Angels, where Doré illustrates the moment when Lucifer and his rebel angels are cast out of Heaven.
Doré’s depiction is awe-inspiring in its grandeur and drama. The angels fall in swarms from the heavens, their beautiful forms still shining with the remnants of their divinity. However, they are shown tumbling through a chaotic sky, reflecting their eternal fall from grace. Doré’s intricate detail and mastery of light and shadow create a powerful sense of tragedy. His Lucifer is both regal and wretched, embodying Milton’s vision of a once-glorious being brought low by pride.
“The Fall of the Rebel Angels” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1562)
Artist: Pieter Bruegel the ElderYear: 1562Medium: Oil on PanelLocation: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
Bruegel’s The Fall of the Rebel Angels offers a chaotic and terrifying depiction of the biblical story of the war in Heaven. In this crowded composition, angels are shown fighting demons in a whirlwind of grotesque forms, reflecting the cataclysmic nature of Lucifer’s rebellion.
Bruegel’s interpretation of the fallen angels is different from other representations: they are not beautiful, tragic figures but monstrous creatures, symbolizing the corruption of their souls after the fall. The scene is packed with bizarre, otherworldly beings—fish-headed demons, serpentine bodies, and twisted limbs—that descend into the abyss. The central figure, Lucifer, is dressed in golden armor, still reminiscent of his former angelic glory, but surrounded by horror and chaos. This painting highlights the contrast between celestial order and infernal disorder, with the fallen angels trapped in their descent into hell.
“Lucifer” by Franz von Stuck (1890)
Artist: Franz von StuckYear: 1890Medium: Oil on CanvasLocation: Private Collection
Franz von Stuck’s Lucifer is a powerful depiction of the fallen angel as a figure of defiance and danger. In this Symbolist painting, Lucifer stands tall, draped in shadows, his muscular form looming ominously in the darkness. His eyes, a piercing yellow, seem to stare directly at the viewer, challenging them with their intensity.
Stuck’s Lucifer is not a figure of pity or sadness but one of pure rebellion. His wings are dark and heavy, resembling the weight of his eternal punishment. The darkness that surrounds him seems to represent both the physical and moral abyss into which he has fallen. The painting is minimalist compared to the more ornate Baroque or Romantic versions, but its starkness only adds to the figure’s menace. Lucifer here is a figure to be feared, embodying both power and the dangers of unchecked ambition.
“Satan and His Legions Hurling Defiance Toward the Vault of Heaven” by Thomas Lawrence (1797)
Artist: Thomas LawrenceYear: 1797Medium: Oil on CanvasLocation: Tate Gallery, London, UK
Thomas Lawrence, a British painter renowned for his portraits, also created a striking image of Satan in defiance. In Satan and His Legions Hurling Defiance Toward the Vault of Heaven, Lawrence depicts Satan standing among his fallen comrades, defiantly hurling curses at Heaven.
The focus of this painting is the dramatic pose of Satan, his arm extended toward the heavens in a gesture of challenge and rage. His face, contorted with fury, conveys the pain of his loss and the stubborn refusal to accept defeat. The composition’s dramatic lighting, with a strong contrast between dark clouds and bright celestial light, underscores the theme of the eternal battle between good and evil. Lawrence’s Satan is a tragic but defiant figure, embodying the essence of rebellion against divine authority.
Lucifer in the Theosophical Abstract Art
In September 1875, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831–1891) co-founded the Theosophical Society in New York City. H. P. Blavatsky composed the foundation texts of Theosophy, Isis Unveiled (1877), and The Secret Doctrine (1888). Both became worldwide best-sellers, and the Society came to occupy a position as the most important international movement of its time in the realm of alternative spirituality.
The Secret Doctrine (1888), one of the foundation texts of Theosophy, contains chapters propagating an unembarrassed Satanism.
Theosophical sympathy for the Devil also extended to the name of their journal Lucifer. An assertion of Lucifer as a free will and independent thought’ Blavatsky’s sympathy for the Devil was manifested even before the publication of The Secret Doctrine.
From September 1887 onwards, Blavatsky published a journal named Lucifer. The strikingly positive view of Satan presented by Blavatsky was shocking. Announcing that the shrouds of the fallen angel have fallen, and the theosophical trials to redefine evil had not come to an end yet.
In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, the theosophical movement evoked by the occult Helena Blavatsky did not find better than abstraction art to deliver its messages subliminally to the public. The three forerunner artists, Hilma Af Klint, Wassily Kandinsky, and Piet Mondrian were the groundbreaking pioneers of the new style.
The abstraction mystic Hilma Af Klint was a Swedish artist whose paintings are considered among the first abstract works known in Western art history. A considerable body of her work predates the first purely abstract compositions by Kandinsky and Mondrian.
Hilma belonged to a group called "The Five", comprising a circle of women inspired by the Theosophy of Madame Blavatsky, who shared a belief in the importance of trying to contact the so-called "High Masters". On the other hand, Kandinsky openly acknowledges that his art theories are based on the occult teachings of Helena Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy, and author of The Secret Doctrine.
Kandinsky wrote in 1918 “I got everything from the Secret Doctrine of Blavatsky. Although Russian by birth, Kandinsky belonged to the German expressionist movement known as The Bridge founded in 1905. Rejecting their “bourgeois” backgrounds, The Bridge group adopted a bohemian lifestyle, and represented nudity in their art. This group was also strongly influenced by magic through the occult theories of Blavatsky.
Another forerunner in Abstract Art is the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, Mondrian was also a theosophist and a close friend of the philosopher and theosophist Mathieu Hubertus Josephus Schoenmaekers (13 December 1875, Maastricht - 18 December 1944, Laren) “I am always driven to the spiritual,” Mondrian stated. “Through Theosophy, I became aware that art could provide a transition to the finer regions, which I will call the spiritual realm.”
Lucifer Painting by Jackson Pollock
Lucifer Painting, in which Pollock freely admitted total retrenchment from traditional methods of oil painting, at some point in the process of painting, Pollock dripped and spattered his paint, not quite completely covering the underlayer.
The scattered vivid Green Paint drippings may represent the presence of Lucifer on the dark matter of the universe "represented as black paint drippings underneath". Lucifer Painting is emphasizing the connection between Jackson Pollock and the theosophical movement.
Conclusion
The theme of the fallen angel has captivated artists for centuries, offering a powerful canvas for exploring themes of rebellion, pride, beauty, and damnation. From the melancholy beauty of Cabanel’s Fallen Angel to the grotesque descent in Bruegel’s The Fall of the Rebel Angels, each artist brings their own interpretation of this complex and evocative figure. These paintings remind us of the eternal struggle between light and darkness, good and evil, and the tragic consequences of pride and defiance. The fallen angel remains a potent symbol in art, inviting contemplation on the nature of sin, punishment, and redemption.
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