An Angel

The more materialistic science becomes, the more angels shall I paint: Their wings are my protest in favor of the immortality of the soul. –Edward Burne-Jones

An Angel by Edward Burne-Jones, 1878

Angels and Sir Galahad

Man’s power of choice enables him to think like an angel or a devil, a king or a slave. Whatever he chooses, mind will create and manifest. –Frederick Bailes

Sir Galahad by Robert Burns, 1891

Rainbow

Although the painter Edward Burne-Jones entitled this work "Rainbow Fairy", to me this looks like angel ascending. What do you see?

Three Visitors

Rublev's icon shows three angelic visitors who came to Abraham (see Genesis 18, 1-16). Hospitality to angels is never unrewarded.

An Angelic Visitor

"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." --Luke 1:28

The Annunciation, gesso panel with mother of pearl inlay by F. Pickford Marriott, 1901.

Rowing to safety

Every man contemplates an angel in his future self. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

How an Angel Rowed Sir Galahad Across Dern Mere, oil on canvas by Sir Joseph Noel Paton

Gabriel: The Annunciation

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) painted this watercolor in 1855. It shows Gabriel coming to Mary in a garden. Often Gabriel is shown presenting lilies to Mary, but in this case, calla lilies grow in the garden, itself. It is as if Mary is ready to receive the angel and to become the mother of Jesus.

The Angel Standing in the Sun

Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.

Detail of The Angel Standing in the Sun, William Turner, 1840

Gabriel, the messenger

"If there is anything that keeps the mind open to angel visits, and repels the ministry of evil, it is a pure human love." –N. P. Willis
Above is another version by Simone Martini of the angel Gabriel's visit to Mary.

A Meeting with Angels

The delight of the wisdom of angels is to communicate to others what they know. –Emanuel Swedenborg

Above: Rembrandt's drawing of Jacob being visited by angels in a dream.

"Four angels 'round my head"

Four corners to my bed,
Four angels 'round my head,
One to watch, one to pray,
And two to shield my soul always.
Traditional

Four Corners to My Bed by Isobel Lilian Gloag

An Angel and the Soul

Walter Crane's (1845-1915) early painting, My Soul is an Enchanted Boat, shows an angel present in the boat of the soul sailing along life's river.

The function of the wing is to take what is heavy and raise it up into the region above, where the gods dwell. — Plato

Gabriel: The Annunciation

The Archangel Gabriel is a messenger. His first mention in the Bible is in the book of Daniel, when he appears to the prophet Daniel on two occasions to help him understand visions, to give him "insight and understanding."

Gabriel also appeared to Zechariah to foretell the birth of John the Baptist and to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus.

Detail from The Annunciation, by Simone Martini

Carracci: The Flight into Egypt

Where Giotto's view of the flight into Egypt is a journey by land, this painting from about 1600, attributed to Ludovico Carracci, shows a different view. It is indeed possible to travel from Bethlehem to Egypt by boat, so the idea is not necessarily a fanciful one.

Notice the angel holding the mast and assuring that plenty of wind blows from the right direction to keep the boat on course toward safety. Notice, too, that the ferryman is doing his vigorous part: human effort coupled with divine assistance.

Giotto: The Flight into Egypt

After Joseph was told in a dream by an angel to take the Holy Family to Eygypt, the journey commenced.



Giotto's The Flight into Eypgt, a fresco in the Scrovegni Chapel Chapel in Padua, Italy, painted c. 1304-06, shows an angel guiding the way, eyes fastened on the Christ Child. The angel's face expresses tenderness and determination. Joseph leads the little group forward, guided by an angel.

Rembrandt: Joseph's Dream

Matthew 2 describes how, after the magi had visited the newborn Jesus, Joseph was warned in a dream by an angel to take Mary and her Child far away. This 1645 painting by Rembrandt imagines the angel coming gently but insistently with a message of what Joseph must do to save the life of the Babe.

11th Century: St Michael

The Archangel Michael is repeatedly portrayed as leading battle on the side of right. In the image above from the 11th century, he is portrayed in a contest with evil, as shown by the dragon. This fierce prayer invokes him:

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Teachers and Guides

Bernardino Luini (c. 1480-1532), fresco detail

"We are like children who stand in need of masters to enlighten and direct us. God has provided for this by appointing his angels to be our teachers and guides." --Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Frederic James Shields:The Light of the World

"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path." Psalm 119:105

Frederic James Shields (March 14, 1833 – February 26, 1911) was an English artist whose Christian devotion showed in much of his work.

The image above is of the Christ Child (notice the snake, an image of sin, being crushed by the child's heel). In addition to the text from the Psalms, the image can also be related to the Christ the Light, as in the text in the Gospel of John: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12.

George Frederic Watts:Dweller in the Innermost

So in a voice, so in a shapeless flame,
Angels affect us oft, and worshipp'd be.
John Donne, Air and Angels

George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817 – 1 July 1904) was a popular Victorian painter. This painting is a comparatively large (27" x 42") oil on canvas.

Domenico Zampieri:The Guardian Angel

The Guardian Angel, preparatory cartoon (sketch), 1615, by Domenico Zampieri (or Domenichino)
Angel of God, my guardian dear
to whom God's love commits me here,
Ever this day/night be at my side
to light, to guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.

Edward A. Fellowes-Prynne:O all ye green things upon earth

O all ye green things upon earth by Edward A. Fellowes-Prynne (1854-1921)
O all ye Green Things upon the Earth, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever. --Benedicite, trans. Book of Common Prayer

Why "Picturing Angels"?

What -- who are angels? The purpose of this site is to live with that question and, as part of doing so, to share images of angels and information from many traditions.