April 19th, 2009 by Kathleen
This little choir of angels is from a painting fragment, probably of a nativity painting from the early Italian Renaissance. The name of the artist is not known.
Notice the different colored angel wings, which look more like bird wings than the huge, white, fluffy wings depicted on angels in the last century. In fact, the wing colors seem to be chosen to match the angel robes—or vice versa.
The angels in the choir all appear to be male. Some appear a bit chubby and not very young or beautiful. In old religious paintings, the faces of angels, saints, monks, and others were often portraits of donors or patrons of the artist. That may very well be the case in this painting.
Though much art has been lost in wars and fires through the centuries, the world still possesses a wealth of angel art. What a blessing it is to have so many beautiful and interesting sources of inspiration from the past.
A Choir of Angels a Fragment, Probably of Nativity Giclee Print
18 in. x 24 in.
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December 25th, 2008 by Kathleen
You might say that these are the true Christmas angels, not the one on the top of the Christmas tree. These little cherubs are a detail from the classic painting, Adoration of the Shepherds, by Nicolas Poussin.
Angels descending, bring from above,
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
—Fanny J. Crosby
Adoration of the Sheperds Art Print
Poussin, Nicolas
22 in. x 16 in.
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December 19th, 2008 by Kathleen
It is unusual to see modern angel paintings with dark wings, although dark wings were very common in the great angel art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
I love the idea of an angel bringing night…and stars…and sleep…and rest…and dreams.
Also, somehow this painting reminds me of a quotation from Lord Byron.
The Angels were all singing out of tune,
And hoarse with having little else to do,
Excepting to wind up the sun and moon
Or curb a runaway young star or two.
—Lord Byron
Night with Her Train of Stars Art Print
Hughes, Edward…
32 in. x 24 in.
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November 30th, 2008 by Kathleen
For our family, thanksgiving this year was one of the nicest ever. It was a great blessing just to be with the family and enjoy wonderful holiday food. I hope you were equally blessed.
Here are some angels for Thanksgiving. The rich colors of their robes just seemed appropriate somehow. I hope you like them as much as I do.
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Thanksgiving angels in richly colored robes.
There are nine orders of angels, to wit, angels, archangels, virtues, powers, principalities, dominations, thrones, cherubim, and seraphim.
—Pope Gregory The Great
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November 15th, 2008 by Kathleen
Virgin with Angels, painted by William Bougereau in 1900, depicts the beautiful white-robed, white-winged angels that most of us expect. Bougereau’s angels have sweet faces and generally look like pretty young girls.
As you will see in other articles, angels have been depicted in many different guises over the centuries. Medieval and Renaissance angels were often shown in very expensive, aristocratic clothing worn by the wealthiest people of the artist’s time period and region.
The fabrics were rich and often quite heavy looking. The colors were intense and often quite deep. Often the garments appear to be embroidered with gold and gems.
In contrast to Bougereau’s delicate angels, often the angels in Medieval and Renaissance art appear to be male and wear solemn, even stern, facial expressions. In the customs of the time, some of them were probably modeled on the children or protogees of the artists’ wealthy patrons.
Even more startling are depictions of the avenging angels wearing metal armor and brandishing swords.
And that’s just in Europe! In the future I hope to show examples of angels from other cultures, in beautiful images that may look very unfamiliar to western eyes.
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Tags: angel art, angel choir, angel wings, italian renaissance art, nativity, renaisssance angels
