The Fallen Angel (painting)

The Fallen Angel (L'Ange déchu) is a painting by 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 is at the Musée Fabre in Montpellier.

History and description
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 to become the Devil.

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.

Analysis
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. He would paint The Evening Angel (1848), a year later in gouache. In this depiction, the angel is dressed in a large drape and faces away from the viewer,