Salvatore Albano (Italian, 1841–1893). <em>The Fallen Angels, or The Rebel Angels</em>, 1893 (marble); 1883 (base). Marble, dark stone, bronze, Base from floor to top of upper plate: 40 x 57 1/2 x 57 1/2 in. (101.6 x 146.1 x 146.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of A. Augustus Healy, 97.35. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 97.35_PS2.jpg)

Salvatore Albano (Italian, 1841–1893). The Fallen Angels, or The Rebel Angels, 1893 (marble); 1883 (base). Marble, dark stone, bronze, Base from floor to top of upper plate: 40 x 57 1/2 x 57 1/2 in. (101.6 x 146.1 x 146.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of A. Augustus Healy, 97.35. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 97.35_PS2.jpg)

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Was this designed for a church?

This sculpture does not seem to have been commissioned by any institution or collector. Albano worked on it intermittently for years and it was still in his studio at the time of his death.

Why is the sword wavy?

We aren’t certain exactly why the sword isn’t straight. People have speculated that it may be to show that it is melting in the heat of a powerful battle, or that it simply provides an interesting texture.

Was the top half ever painted?

The top was always bare white marble. The contrast between the dark base and the light top can be viewed as a comment on the differences between Heaven and Hell. In the nineteenth century bare white marble was considered ideal.

Did the upper half take ten years to make, or are these two separate sculptures put together?

Ordinarily, a sculpture like this would not take so long to complete. It seems like Albano worked on this sculpture over time, perhaps between other projects.

A model of the full sculpture was first presented in the late 1870s or early 1880s. A date on the base reads 1883. Work on the upper portion was started by 1889 and completed in 1893.

Who was Salvatore Albano?

Salvatore Albano was born in 1841 in Oppido Mamertima in the Calabria region of southern Italy. He began sculpting in his hometown before leaving to study art in Naples. He eventually established his studio in Florence. Albano was known for the expressive nature of his figures, his dynamic use of texture. Like many marble sculptors working in 19th century Italy, he created works based on Biblical and Classical subjects as well as portraits.

The Fallen Angels, or The Rebel Angels

Salvatore Albano

European Art

On View: Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor

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This striking sculpture was one of the first European artworks to enter the collection of the newly opened Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, now known as the Brooklyn Museum; the Brooklyn Daily Eagle declared it to be the artist’s masterpiece. Salvatore Albano based the composition of The Fallen Angels on a passage from the book of Revelation that describes how the archangel Michael cast a group of rebellious angels, including Satan, out of heaven. Albano stages a dynamic moment in this apocalyptic battle between good and evil, a fundamental clash heightened by the juxtaposition of white marble and dark bronze. The winged angels—their tangled, tense limbs and tormented faces—introduce an erotic element, often associated with the highly polished style for which academically trained European artists like Albano were known.

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Gallery Label

At the apex of this sculptural group, a sword- wielding Satan struggles alongside his rebel angels against God and his army (not depicted) in heaven. Below, under a coiled serpent, a defeated angel (possibly Satan again) lies facedown in hell. Such continuous narratives were common in monumental, ancient Roman sculpture, a major influence on the academically trained Florentine Salvatore Albano. Here, the angels are so idealized that only snakes in their hair identify them as fallen.

ARTIST Salvatore Albano, Italian, 1841–1893

MEDIUM Marble, dark stone, bronze

Place Made: Italy

DATES 1893 (marble); 1883 (base)

DIMENSIONS Base from floor to top of upper plate: 40 x 57 1/2 x 57 1/2 in. (101.6 x 146.1 x 146.1 cm) Marble group at top: 61 x 58 in. (154.9 x 147.3 cm) (show scale)

INSCRIPTIONS Base of marble incised: "S. Albano f./Firenze 1893" Bronze base incised: "Salv Albano/1883"

COLLECTIONS European Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 97.35

CREDIT LINE Gift of A. Augustus Healy

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion, 1st Floor

CAPTION Salvatore Albano (Italian, 1841–1893). The Fallen Angels, or The Rebel Angels, 1893 (marble); 1883 (base). Marble, dark stone, bronze, Base from floor to top of upper plate: 40 x 57 1/2 x 57 1/2 in. (101.6 x 146.1 x 146.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of A. Augustus Healy, 97.35. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 97.35_PS2.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 97.35_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2011

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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