The Fallen Angel (painting)
| The Fallen Angel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Alexandre Cabanel |
| Year | 1847 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 120.50 cm × 196.50 cm (47.44 in × 77.36 in) |
| Location | Musée Fabre, Montpellier |
The Fallen Angel (French: L'Ange déchu) is a painting 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.[1] The painting is at the Musée Fabre in Montpellier.[2]
History and description
[edit]In 1845, while he was at the National School of Fine Arts, Cabanel won the second Grand Prix de Rome, which allowed him to move to Italy for a few years. Like all the other residents, he had to send paintings back regularly to testify the progress he was making during his stay in Rome. It was in this context that he painted The Fallen Angel, in 1847. Cabanel opted for a subject not often represented in French painting: the fall from Heaven of the Fallen Angel, who went on to become the Devil.[3]
Depicting an angel expelled from heaven by God, the painting shows a saddened Lucifer, with his hands crossed and tears running from his eyes. He lies on the ground, naked, while angels fly in the sky above to show the glory of God.
Cabanel painted the work at the Villa Médicis in Rome as his second official envoi to Paris (envoi 2e année).[4][5]
The painting has been in the collection of the Musée Fabre since 1889 (inv. 889.2.1).[4] The Musée Fabre collection record gives the unframed dimensions as 120.50 × 196.50 cm (framed: 160 × 223 cm).[6]
Analysis
[edit]A Romantic work, the figure of Lucifer is shown as a nude, handsome young man reclining, hands clasped, his face partially obscured by his arm. His wings are mostly white at the scapulars but dappled with blue and gold while the primary feathers are a rich dark navy that blend into the dark foreground. A thorny vine trails behind his legs and near his feet. In the sky numerous less detailed angels are in flight all towards the same direction Lucifer faces. Lucifer glares out angrily from behind his arm, tears visibly in his eyes.
In Rome, Cabanel meditated at length on the theme of the fallen angel. In this depiction, the angel is dressed in a large drape and faces away from the viewer.[7]
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Reception and significance
[edit]The painting is regularly cited in literature on Cabanel and nineteenth-century French academic painting and is included in the Musée Fabre's presentation of Cabanel's work as a key early canvas from his Roman period; it also appears in the principal exhibition catalogue *Alexandre Cabanel, 1823–1889 : la tradition du beau* (Somogy, 2010).[8][9]
Provenance
[edit]- Paris, collection of the artist;
- Paris, galerie Georges Petit, Vente Cabanel, 22–25 May 1889, no. 70 (probably repurchased by the family);
- Gift of Barthélémy Cabanel (the artist’s brother) to the Musée Fabre, 1889 (inv. 889.2.1).[4]
Exhibition history
[edit]- Montpellier, Musée Fabre — *Alexandre Cabanel, 1823–1889 : La tradition du beau* (catalogue), 9 July–5 December 2010 (the exhibition catalogue includes an entry on *L'Ange déchu*).[8]
- Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne — loaned as part of the 2010–2011 touring exhibition (catalogue: *Alexandre Cabanel, 1823–1889. La tradition du beau*).[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "The Story of The Fallen Angel by Alexander Cabanel". KUURTH. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ^ "Fallen Angel". Obelisk Art History. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
- ^ Chefs-d'œuvre du Musée Fabre de Montpellier: Exposition Chefs-d'Œuvre du Musée Fabre de Montpellier à la Fondation de l'Hermitage à Lausanne du 27 janvier au 5 juin 2006, 2006, pp. 208-209 (French)
- ^ a b c "L'Ange déchu". Musée Fabre (in French). Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ^ "Ange déchu - Cabanel, Alexandre 28/09/1823". AGORHA, Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA) (in French). Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ^ "L'Ange déchu". Musée Fabre (in French). Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- '^ Alexandre Cabanel, 1823-1889: la tradition du beau, exhibition, Montpellier, Musée Fabre, 10 July - 11December 2011, Musée Fabre Somogy, 2010, pp. 151-152 (French)
- ^ a b "Alexandre Cabanel, 1823-1889 : la tradition du beau". Musée Fabre (in French). Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ^ "Alexandre Cabanel: La Tradition du Beau". 19th-Century Art Worldwide. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ^ "Alexandre Cabanel, 1823-1889. La tradition du beau (catalogue d'exposition)". AGORHA (notice bibliographique) (in French). Retrieved 27 September 2025.