Between 1910 and 1914, Natalia Goncharova created several important works with strong religious connotations. This brightly colored and stylized painting depicts the winged archangel Michael—the commander of the Army of God—astride his horse, charging through a vivid landscape, blowing his horn. The work's original ornate, painted frame further underscores its connection to the Russian tradition of icon painting. A central member of Russian avant-garde circles, Goncharova visited Paris, and like many of her compatriots, she returned to her native land invigorated by new aesthetic ideas that she fused with long-standing Russian-art traditions.
