There’s sympathy for the devil in this bejewelled painting. The green-skinned fallen angel lies naked and defeated, crushed under the blue-wrapped feet of the Archangel Michael. Satan clutches at Michael’s legs, begging for mercy. He looks up with stunned pathos. Michael meanwhile raises his weapon and looks down at God’s enemy with cool, unmoved hauteur. His armour is florid and magnificent, his hairstyle refined – he is an elegant knight dressed for the tournament field. Does Crivelli crave understanding for the fallen and wicked? This artist, exiled from Venice for adultery, was himself an errant sinner, wandering the towns of Adriatic Italy, leaving strange, sensual religious paintings wherever he washed up.

https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/