Michael's Arrow

The painting consists of two superimposed planes: in the upper part we find the Virgin of the Assumption into heaven, surrounded by angelic hosts, while in the foreground we can recognize St. Michael the Archangel with the usual attribute of the scales for the weighing of souls tied to his belt, while fight with the devil. In the background are mountain landscapes, a turreted village and a representation of apostles surrounding the empty tomb of Mary, in which some flowers were miraculously born. The panel was made for the Cathedral of Reggio, commissioned by Duke Alfonso I d'Este to celebrate the renewed dominion over the cities of the Este duchy, lost to Pope Julius II in 1510. It is a rather complex work built for overlapping floors that critics have assigned to the collaboration of the two brothers: the Baptist is responsible for the scenes with the Virgin assumed with glory of angels, the Apostles at the sepulcher and the landscape. The figures of St. Michael the archangel, who imposes himself on the surrounding naturalistic environment, and of the monstrous demon, defeated at his feet, with the aggressive and grotesque face, the tail set on fire with yellow on the tip and the webbed ends, are born from an idea completely singular typical of Dosso Dossi's eccentric painting.