He thrusts down a long spear.
Bible in art · Revelation
Miniature from a Manuscript of the Apocalypse: The War in Heaven
Unknown painter, Lorraine · c. 1295
The Cleveland Museum of Art
A cutting from a book of Revelation made in Lorraine, France, about 1295. It was painted in tempera and gold on vellum, with figures outlined in black.
Michael, with wings and a shield, thrusts a long spear down at a red dragon with many heads. Other angels with shields join the fight, and the dragon’s blue body twists across the bottom.
From the text
- Michael and his angels fight against the dragon (Revelation 12:7)
- The dragon is hurled down (Revelation 12:9)
The artist’s own
- The angels carrying round shields with crosses
- Long spears instead of swords
Details
Michael
Angel
An angel with a white shield.
The dragon
Red and blue heads of the dragon.
Another head
A dragon head bites at a spear.
Unknown illuminator, France, Lorraine. The Cleveland Museum of Art (John L. Severance Fund, 1983.73.2.b) · ink, tempera, and gold on vellum · Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access: Collection API record "share_license_status": "CC0" (Creative Commons Zero, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).