The Fallen Angel Painting

A LOOK AT

French artist Alexandre Cabanel focused on religious, classical, and historical subjects. Today, his works are showcased in many of the world’s most prestigious art exhibitions.

WHO WAS ALEXANDRE CABANEL?

Another extremely well-known and respected piece of art that Cabanel painted was The Birth of Venus (1863), which is located at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. 

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabanel is a painting of Lucifer from the moment that he was cast out of Heaven, and is filled with emotion and intensity.

FORMAL ANALYSIS

Above Lucifer and assumingly behind him, we see several angels floating and flying past, wrapped within each other in the boundless stretch of the sky.

SUBJECT MATTER

We see the nude Lucifer lying in a striking pose on a rock. His expression is almost scowling, filled with rage and sadness. His position and the tears in his eye display his determination and readiness to attack.

SUBJECT MATTER

The light blue colors within the Devil’s wings almost blend in with the background, symbolizing a past connection with himself and the heavens above.

COLOR AND LIGHT

Lucifer’s enormous wing – which extends from the rocks in the forefront to the heavens and connects the lower and top parts of the picture – makes the left side of the composition more rounded and shrouded.

SHAPE AND LINE

Fallen Angel has been described as having a Romantic aesthetic, which would make sense given the subject matter.

BEAUTY WITHIN