The Master of Arguis was an Aragon

Aragon

Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

ese artist active in the first half of the 15th century. Stylistically, his work is related to that of Juan de Levi and Bonanat Zaortiga, and is derived from the tradition of the International Gothic

International Gothic

International Gothic is a phase of Gothic art which developed in Burgundy, Bohemia, France and northern Italy in the late 14th century and early 15th century...

 in Aragon. His name is derived from a retable

Retable

A retable is a framed altarpiece, raised slightly above the back of the altar or communion table, on which are placed the cross, ceremonial candlesticks and other ornaments....

 of Saint Michael dating to about 1440, now in the Museo del Prado

Museo del Prado

The Museo del Prado is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of...

 in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

; this was once the main altarpiece of the church of Arguis

Arguis

Arguis is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 61 inhabitants.The Master of Arguis derives his name from a painting which once hung in the town church....

. The painting depicts the victory of Michael over the Antichrist

Antichrist

The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...

, and focuses primarily on the latter figure, pierced with a lance. Included in the scene are various secular figures, including kings and noblemen, as well as religious figures. At the bottom of the image may be seen a papal tiara

Papal Tiara

The Papal Tiara, also known incorrectly as the Triple Tiara, or in Latin as the Triregnum, in Italian as the Triregno and as the Trirègne in French, is the three-tiered jewelled papal crown, supposedly of Byzantine and Persian origin, that is a prominent symbol of the papacy...

 and sceptre

Sceptre

A sceptre is a symbolic ornamental rod or wand borne in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia.-Antiquity:...

, symbols of the power the Antichrist claims to wield as the new Messiah

Messiah

A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...

. Two other paintings, both dedicated to Saint Anne

Saint Anne

Saint Hanna of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah...

, are attributed to the Master; one is in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, while the other, a small triptych

Triptych

A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...

, is in the collegiate church of Alquezar

Alquézar

Alquézar is a municipality in the province of Huesca, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. In 2004, it had a population of 309.Situated on a limestone outcrop of Eocene age to the west of the canyon of the Rio Vero river in the Sierra de Guara national park, the village has grown around a...

.