Michael Defeating the Dragon (Michael die de draak verslaat)

About this artwork.

The statue represents the archangel Michael, who fights the dragon. Armed with a spear, Michael is about to slay the beast. Like all angels he has wings (which prevents confusion with the other dragon slayer, Saint George).   
 
 The theme is based on the biblical book, the Revelation of John, in which there is war in heaven and Michael and his angels fight against the dragon. Michael and the dragon embody good versus evil, interpreted by the church as Christ's struggle with the Antichrist.
 The sculpture was designed by the sculptor Emmanuel Colinet. In 1877 Colinet came from Brussels to Amsterdam to work under the Rijksmuseum architect, P.J.H. Cuypers. Colinet was commissioned to make models of sculptures and ornaments and to train people in decorative sculpture.
 
 Commissioned by the industrialist W.A. Scholten of Groningen, Colinet designed the statue of Saint Michael, officially titled St Michel, terrassant le Dragon. The statue was cast in Brussels and delivered to Scholten in 1883. W.A. Scholten, founder of many potato flour and strawboard factories in Groningen, had a great interest in art, culture and architecture. 
 
It is not known where Scholten placed the statue of St. Michael. In any case, it was found around 1930 in the warehouse of a metalworking shop on Turftorenstraat. The owner of the company, Mr S.H. Van der Rijn, decided to bring the statue out of hiding and donated it to the Vereniging Stadspark in celebration of his grandson’s birth. The Vereniging Stadspark likely placed it near the city park pavilion in August 1930, where it still stands today.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Emmanuel Colinet

• District
  Stadspark

• Year of creation
  1883

• Art type
  Freestanding sculpture

• Material
  Bronze

• Dimensions
  h 3,00 m