The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-15
TRUE TYPES OF ANGELS
A QUEER CONTROVERSY IN REGARD
TO CELESTIAL PICTURES.
Contributions of the Art of the World
and of All Ages to the sub
ject Under Discussion.
washington Post.

| on the subject of THE True Type of An
| gel" The queer discussion may have had
its origin in theological circles, but at pres
ent it is engaging the attention of priest and
| layman alike The angel of the sculptor
| and artist is being dissacted from wing tip
to brow; while science is pointing out, with
| brutal disregard for the feelings of the firm
believer in old-fashloned things, that no
| angel could fly with wings constructed on
such principles as those familiar to the art
| gallery visitor. OF the angelic nature OF
the angel nothing is heard in the discussion.
| 1T is not conducted in an irreverent
| spirit but with the firm intention on the
part of those engaged. in the argument to
show that great minds can have entirely
erroneous ideas regarding a supernatural
| subject.
One result of the discussion has been to
call attention to the great variety of beau
| tiful conceptions that art has given us. and
the unanimity of opinion among artists re-
| garding particular features of the inhabl-
| tants of the angelic world.
Angels in art are sexless. they are never
bearded and while Michael and his legions
| have frequently richly wrought armor ana
| Gabriel is often in priestiy robes, most an
gels wear distinctly feminine dress. In the
decadent and sensuous art of Corregio they
become often girl-buds of fifteen, exquisite
ly painted, but affected and self-conscious.
On the other hand, the Jews thought of
them as men. Manoah's wife said: "a man
of God came unto me, and his countenance
was like the countenance of an angel of
God, very terrible"
Raphael represented them in the Bible
series as striplings, exquisite in adolescent
beauty; and perhaps this is the purest style
| of all, without wings or symbol of any sort.
| The later Italians failed to give any splrltu-
atty to their forms. One critic says: i
| have seen angels of the later Italian and
! Spanish schools more like opera dancers.
/ with artificial wings and gauze draperies,
! dressed for a ballet, rather than anything
| else L could compare them tc. -.
! In sculpture difficulty arises, Tess le ~
! the body. The clothes have to be pierced
| for the wings to appear.
AN AUTHORITY ON ANGELS.
! The great authority in the early church
on the nature of angels was a certain
Dionysius the Areopagite. He does not tell
us how he was informed of these high mys-
teries-in what exalted hierarchy are ranged
these thrones, Nominations, princedoms,
| virtues. powers" We do not know even if
cherubim and seraphim are super-archan-
gelic or what ineffable functions are theirs.
welded the everturning flaming sword in
Eden after the fall Cherubs of gold
o'erarched the mercy seat. Ezekiel saw them
like burning Goals OF IRE. Inc Jews
thought of them as armed guardians OF the
throne, awful in strength, intelligence and
sWiftneSs. The Jews thought the cheruDlm
excelled in love and the seraphim In knoWl-
edge. In early art they are drawn as SIX
One of the most startling traditions was
the representation of the Eternal sustained
did fly" So Michael Angelo painted on the
vast vault of the Sistine Chapel the Deity
as the Ancient of Days, stretching out a nm
ger to awaken Adam to life, and sustained
by a bevy of cherubs. Only the imperial
genius of the great Roman could reconcile
us to that bizarre image Dommchino mas
less successfully repeated 1t.
Michael is the angel who Will sound the
trumpet of judgment, who contended with
Satan over the body of Moses. He is the
great bronze-winged guardian of the castle
of St. Angelo, familiar in every view of
Rome. His statue there commentaries the
century. obtained by st. Gregory In paint
ing he is always represented as a young
warrior, superbly armed, generally unhel-
melted, and trampling on the head of the
dragon.
TYPES OF ARCHANGEIS
The archangel stands resplendent in gold
embossed cuirass, crimson embroidered
mantle, and Renaissance shield. The old
English coin called the 'angel had a figure
of Michael s patron saint of the Plantag-
enets. Signorelh painted in terribly grand
frescoes at Orvieto the war with the rebel
angels. and st. Michael weighing souls in
balance. Luca is an artist whose great
ness, if certain, requires a special gift to
enjoy-nevertheless, in angelic creations he
is indeed majestic. Leonardo's ST. Michael
is graceful with flowing hair Rubens at
Munich shows, as he always does, riotous
power but his Michael is theatrical and
his fallen angels fleshy and vulgar The
lfal1 oil &c
Carre of the Louvre. the agining of great
Raphael. The archangel has swept down
from on high, like a mighty eagle: the
demon is about to be transffxed by thrust
of his Spear MchaePs face is calm but his
flowing locks express the rapidity of his
downward swoop. The PROSTATE foe lies
blackened by Internal FIRE His useless
wings spring f1ame-like from his shoulders
II is an eternal allegory of the human
evil passions triumphantly subiugated by
the purity and the energy of righteousness
Raphael painted the picture for Francis I
on the institution of the knightly order of
Gabriel-"the strength of God''-is pre-
emlnently the messenger angel. The early
church thought it was always Gabriel who
appeared to man. 1t was he who fOretold to
Manoah Samson's birth, and to Zachariah
the birth of John. But. above ALL he is the
all pictures.
In earliest representations he bore
scepter, but later always a spire of An
nunciation lilies CI1ilium candidum) and a
scroll inscribed ave Maria gratia plena''
Gabriel is often robed in prestly vestments
cope and brooch. Thus, Hemmeling painted
him, and the Paduan Carlo Crivelli drew
him kneeling in a court of fantastic gided
architecture, with peacocks, doves vases of
flowers, tapestries and the invariable cri-
vellian cucumbers.
In the early German and Flemish paint
ings Gabriel always kneels. bending to Mary
as to a Queen. In Albert Durer's Little
Passion he enters robed in stiff brocades
and fringes, with provoking elaboration of
angular folds, if studied from buckram.
but with the enchanting Durerism shown
in the illustrations.
Gabriel is the great Mohammedan angel.
1t was he who appeared 10 Mahomet at the
mouth OF his cave of retreat. 1t was he who
met the youth. and opening his bosom,
squeezed the black sin drop from his heart
and later on called him to proclaim the
unity of God as Allah
Raphael - 1.-The medicine of God" - is the
third of 1.-The seven angels that present
the prayers of the saints and go in and
out before the glory of the Holy One"
He is far less frequently painted than the
former: generally he is journeying with the
young Tobias.
In the British Museum there are rude
earthen bowls found near the Euphrates,
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