![\"Full](\"https:\/\/blog.museunacional.cat\/wp-content\/uploads\/Francesco_Botticini_-_The_Assumption_of_the_Virgin-GRAN.jpg\")
<\/a>Francesco Botticini, The Assumption of the Virgin<\/em>, probably about <\/a>1475-1476, National Gallery [public domain]<\/p><\/div>This Christmas we propose for you a visit to our collections, enriched with some examples from other museums, in which you will be able to discover how angels are depicted in art.<\/p>\n As Louis R\u00e9au tells us in Iconography of Christian Art<\/em>, \u201cGod does not live alone in Paradise.\u201d He is accompanied by his bodyguards and the militias, and the ministers that act as intermediaries between God and mankind and transmit His instructions. And who are these personages? The angels. But not all angels are the same, as we shall see below.<\/p>\n They are arranged in three orders, each divided into three choirs, and the Virgin Mary is their queen. Each choir has its functions and its own artistic depiction that I shall list in descending order of importance.<\/p>\n Arch of the Tetramorph with Seraph and Archangel from Santa Maria de Ta\u00fcl<\/em><\/a>l, about 1123<\/p><\/div>\n The apse of Santa Eul\u00e0lia d\u2019Estaon is presided over by the Maiestas Domini<\/em> or Christ in Majesty, inside an almond-shaped mandorla, surrounded by the symbols of the evangelists. The most noticeable of them is John\u2019s, with a human body and an eagle\u2019s head. Luke\u2019s ox and Mark\u2019s lion emerge from the bottom of the mandorla in a centrifugal position. At the sides we see a cherub and a seraph, identified by inscriptions, and at the edges the archangels Michael and Gabriel, with signs that identify them as advocates. On the wall of the apse, we see the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan by John the Baptist, with an angel holding his clothes, as we can see in the following image.<\/p>\n Apse of Estaon,<\/em><\/a> mid 12th century<\/p><\/div>\n Apse of Esterri de Card\u00f3s<\/em><\/a>, second half of the 12th century<\/p><\/div>\n Detail of the Paintings from the apse of Santa Maria d\u2019\u00c0neu<\/a><\/em>, late 11th-early 12th century<\/p><\/div>\n Attributed to Lluc Borrass\u00e0, Altarpiece of Saint Michael the Archangel<\/a><\/em>, [depiction of the nine choirs of angels], around 1430-1450, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp [public domain]<\/p><\/div>\n Paintings from the apse of Santa Maria d\u2019\u00c0neu<\/em><\/a>, late 11th \u2013 early 12th century<\/p><\/div>\n Detail of the Apse of Sant Climent de Ta\u00fcll<\/a><\/em>, about 1123<\/p><\/div>\n According to the Gospel of Saint Luke, it is also an angel that announces the birth of a child, the future Saviour, to the shepherds. An angel-star, this time according to the Gospel of Saint Matthew, guides the Magi to the stable in order to show them the newborn baby. And an angel warns them, while they are asleep, that they must return home by a different route if they wish to save their lives.<\/p>\n Isidre Nonell, L\u2019Anunciata (The Annunciation),<\/a><\/em> 1896<\/p><\/div>\n Francesc Pla (el Vigat\u00e0), The Birth of Jesus and the Adoration of the Shepherds<\/a><\/em>, about 1780<\/p><\/div>\n Gradually, the angels multiply and eventually become a group of angel musicians that sing Gloria in excelcis Deo<\/em> to the infant. Or, as on the panel of the Virgin of the \u201cConsellers\u201d<\/em>, the song of songs, Tota pulcra es, amica mea, et macula non est in te<\/em>, in a clear allusion to the Immaculate Conception of Mary.<\/p>\n Llu\u00eds Dalmau, Virgin of the “Consellers”<\/a><\/em>, 1443-1445<\/p><\/div>\n Also associated with the figure of Mary, we find them announcing her death, or in the scenes of the Dormition and the Coronation of the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nFirst hierarchy: divine councillors<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Second hierarchy: governors of heaven<\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Third hierarchy: divine messengers<\/h3>\n
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