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| Reflection of Angels ------------------------------------------------------------- Angels manifest themselves in many different ways. The expression of that manifestation in art involves the use of symbolism. Though Mid-Eastern and European religious art appears to be as different from one another as a pig and a tow truck, each is based on the same concept: The transfer of heavenly words to Earth. The messenger that each culture uses to deliver these words is the angel. The form of a Middle-Eastern angel is a far cry from the that of a traditional European angel, but they serve the same purpose. What makes them angels in both cultures is the particular symbolism used to depict them. By mixing-and-matching the symbolism of various cultures, I created my own angel based on the belief that angels are |
| spiritual beings that must give the illusion of solid matter in order to better mediate "between the realm of the sacred and the profane" (McHenry, 423). In giving this illusion, angels must be recognizable to the culture into which they have placed themselves. This is accomplished with clothing styles, facial features, or the presence of wings in European depictions and the use of geometric figures in those of Mid-Eastern origin. European artists Van der Weyden, Van Eyck, and Van der Goes, use these three criteria: 1) Angels have wings, 2) Angels dress to blend into the scenes and situations in which they are present, and 3) as presented in Van Eyck and Van der goes' paintings - Angels boast features identical to those of the Virgin Mary. These aspects are very important to the way laymen perceive the artists' concept of religion. |
| Clothing is especially important in Adoration of the Shepherds. Given the ethnic dress, one may ascertain that the angels are representative of different Christian peoples throughout the world. One also notices the predominance of the color blue and the resemblance of the angels to the Virgin Mary. |
| Color is often used to induce an instinctive emotional reaction. For instance, red usually promotes feelings of anger, paranoia, even hunger - in restaurants, a deep, subtle red is usually present for just this reason. Think of food chains: McDonald's in red and yellow, Wendy's and Pizza Hut are predominantly red, etc. Green is associated with jealousy as well as tranquility. Hospitals often use cool greens and blues when decorating in order to soothe their patients. Blue is also used in the portrayal of angels because it inspires a "religious feeling and devotion" (Kegan, 52). It is a recognized angel color because Luke the evangelist was an angel and could often be found wearing blue robes in various artworks. In particular, when one sees a stained-glass window with a great deal of blue in it, St. Luke or another angel is likely to be part of the subject matter. A resemblance to the Madonna also proves to imply angelic qualities because she is Christ's mother. Christ was also a "messenger" of God. Who better for an angel to be modeled after than the mother of one of the most influential figures of the religion? Being modeled after Mary instead of Jesus suggests maternity and protectiveness. Hence, the "guardian angel." |
| In Madonna with Chancellor Rolin Van Eyck chooses to show us this guardian. His angel, as were Van der Goes', is of abnormal proportion to the humans in the piece. Perhaps this is to further illustrate the mere illusion an angel creates amid the reality of a given setting. Here again, we see the religious blue on Mary and her guardian. The angel is an exact replica of the Madonna: hair, clothing, and features. The factors suggestive of her position as the Madonna's guardian are that she is helping Mary with her crown (possibly meant to be a saint's halo by the artist) like a mother might and that she is going unnoticed by both Mary and Chancellor Rolin. "Invisibility" is essential to a |
| guardian's role so that they may observe the situation at hand as it truly is and not as it would be did those involved realize they were being watched. For the sake of art, the viewer must see the angel in order to understand her role and believe in it. Angels must be believable or their efforts are for naught because, often, "a seer is a believer" and mere words are not helpful under those circumstances. |
| Believability is Van der Weyden's reason for having his Gabriel dressed so elaborately. As an avenging angel speaking to Mary about her son's resurrection, he must be in the least frightening form possible. When bearing news to a God-fearing woman, it is best to appear wearing a friendly face and the robes of her class. By appearing as a female, Gabriel puts himself that much more on a level with Mary. He is not male, he is not a battle-hardened avenger with corded muscles and a flaming sword, and he does not appear to be much higher up in class than a wealthy noble's messenger, so he must be safe. Gabriel's ability to alter the illusion he transmits to the |
| human eye is an example of how an angel takes on the atmosphere around it in order to accomplish its goal. Gabriel is not on a mission of vengeance, so he has no reason to be frightening to the Madonna. He looks as pleasant as can be... Unless one dwells overlong on the sharp, almost brutal slant of his wings. |
| The wings of angels are very expressive, as are the hands of human beings. As one may note that a person with slender, long-fingered hands is likely to have musical talent or a poetic flair, so may one assume the same of this cello-bearing angel and the patron saint of music playing the mandolin in Saraceni's St. Cecilia and the Angel. Again, the presence of wings alerts us of this musician's angelic position. Although the angel is in no manner dressed as St. Cecilia, they would still appear every inch the musical couple deep in conversation to a passerby. Chances are, he is so obviously an angel to us because Cecilia does not need for him to pretend otherwise in |
| order to make her comfortable with his presence. Though wings are a traditional (and effective) method of alerting one of an angel's presence in artwork, they hold no great interest for me as an artistic tool. The wings on Saraceni's angel are by far my favorite, but I still turned to the art of the Mid-East and A Dictionary of Symbols for further inspiration. |
| Diagram One |
| Diagram Two |
| Still thinking about the graceful wings of the cello player, I found the mandorla. A mandorla is the area found at the juncture of two overlapping circles (see Diagram One). A circle is symbolic of Heaven and Earth, making the mandorla the "union of matter and spirit" (Kegan, 194). Are not angels spirits among matter? Yes, I believe they are. With those wings so strong in my mind, I looked at the mandorla and immediately realized that an angel's wings form an incomplete mandorla when folded down along its back (See Diagram Two). By closely tracing the outermost edge of each wing and completing the natural arc of each, one discovers a complete mandorla. Even more interesting than finding a mandorla naturally present in artwork where it is not a primary focus of the artist's religion, is the fact that geometric figures can be the basis of a religious symbol in the first place. The Hindu word for |
| Mandala |
| "circle" is mandala. Not only is a mandala a circle, but an entire religious artform that revolves around a simple concept meant to express yet another believe about angels. A mandala is a geometric pattern that focuses itself toward the center of its composition. This central focus symbolizes the search for death and rebirth - the striving for heavenly status following death - the same search a spirit had to make to become an angel. The mandorla and a lozenge are the perfect geometric figures to employ in this fashion because their meanings are related to the mandala. |
| Lozenge |
| A lozenge is also created from the base structure of a circle. A lozenge is a circle that has been elongated along its vertical or horizontal axis. It symbolizes victory and "denotes the intercommunication between the inferior and the superior" (Kegan, 186). Here I find another angel. Angels must be victorious over Satan in order to ascend to Heaven instead of being damned to Hell. By having been "lifted up", an angel becomes superior to man. They may also gain the ability to pass the holy word down to those still on Earth. Of course, there are those on Earth who spread the good word also. |
| Jesus and the twelve disciples are always first to come to mind. Is there a reason that there are twelve disciples and say, 20? Yes. Numbers are also symbolic. The numbers three, four, six, seven, and twelve are the most common in religion; there's the Holy Trinity, the seven days God took to create the universe, etc. The number 666 is "evil" because there exists a number of trial for each of the three most commonly used names for the Prime Deciever: Satan, Beelzebub, and Lucifer. Seven is symbolic of holiness because it is the combination of three and four, which indicates perfect order. Again, in 777, there exists a digit for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The number four comes into play in several places. Four is "symbolic of one's situation in the phenomenal world" (Kegan, 222). No matter how religious, most consider a visit from above a phenomenon because it is not easily explainable to our now scientific minds. There are four evangelists in the Christian Bible and the cross upon which the most influential of messengers was crucified has four points. There are also the Four Cardinal Points (or four corners of the earth) to which angels travel to and from in order to "spread the word", either symbolically or literally. After coming upon so many symbols that express my feelings about angels, I was determined to create a mandala. I chose glass as my medium. Glass, as are angels, is very illusive. It appears to be much more fragile than it actually is. Glass is also difficult to detect unless it is tinted or one simply realizes it is present. Blue was a natural choice for tint, given my research. Now, what to use for a central focus? A mirror! What better focus? It is "fragile" like glass and draws attention to itself. A mirror almost always catches the eye because of the movement one detects when walking past it. Mirrors are also reflective of the society in which they hang and "alter" their appearance whenever a new face looks into them, whenever the furniture in the room is rearranged, etc. |
| This piece was written in the fall of 1997 for my Advanced Art class. The assignment was to create an angel for the annual Christmas exhibit held in the city and defend our choice of expression by writing a paper that roughly explained the process through which we came to a decision on what symbology to explore in the completed artwork. |
| When one stops to admire oneself, one becomes caught up in the tranquility of the blue and the delicacy of the glass. The design of symbols is not recognizable as a religious icon to anyone who does not know their meanings, but I was true to my beliefs in the use of them. I believe that everyone finds tranquility within their religious beliefs, even if they do not entirely understand them. Angels are never known at the time for what they are, so it is enough that my piece gives a pleasant aesthetic moment to those who view it. Theology is terribly interesting, but also terribly controversial. Some tend to get upset if others believe differently and "discussion" can soon mean "argument". I do not like arguing, but I do enjoy religious concepts. Discovering that several religions have the same fundamental beliefs about angels goes a long way toward making me a believer in something and I wanted to present the concepts as a whole. I believe in the concept of a Supreme Being and the aspiration toward a higher realm of spirituality, but am not entirely sure how I feel about these |
| Rough Sketch of my finished piece. The original was broken in transit to the exhibit. |
| beliefs, so found it best to express rather abstractly. Neither am I positive as to which religion my beliefs belong, so claim bits of several with this artwork. Everyone must search for their own beliefs, so take a good look in the mirror and reflect. |
| WORKS CITED Kegan, Paul. A Dictionary of Symbols. New York: Philosophical Library, Inc., 1962. McHenry, Robert. The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vol. 1. 15th ed. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 1992. |