Virgin with Angels
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: angels in armor, angels in art, Medieval angels, Renaissance angels, Virgin with Angels, white robes, white wings, William BougereauPosted in
