Angels in Action

Unknown Italian Angel

Unknown Italian Angel

ANGELS IN ACTION

By Joan K. Yanni

A pair of animated, smiling angels has been conserved and will soon be on display in the Fountain Court. They will be installed high on either side of the Italian Baroque Organ--a perfect location, since all date from around 1700.

The angels are in flight, arms outstretched, wings reaching toward the sky and one knee poking upward from beneath a gilded robe. At one time they were probably situated at the highest point of a large South Austrian Baroque altarpiece, looking down toward the central altar; now they will be installed high on the wall on either side of the organ, as though listening to its sound.

The angels, carved from wood, polychromed and gilded, are about three feet tall with an arm span of similar length. Their ankle-length robes are gold, with a narrow belt and sleeves rolled above the elbow. Short, curly hair looks almost wind-blown, while their silvery wings made up of large, sturdy feathers, assure safety of flight and balance.  They are not exactly alike; one is more animated than the other. Together they exemplify the dynamic, theatrical qualities of Baroque art. The outstretched arms, upward thrust of the knee and reach of the wings all add motion to the figures; they are indeed flying. 

The angels were acquired in 1955 as part of the generous bequest of Bertha Buswell. Their visual beauty and rarity were recognized early on, and they were displayed and visited continuously until it became evident that they were becoming fragile. In order to obtain a grant for conservation, the Gallery consulted both the keeper of objects at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and conservators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, who agreed that the angels were excellent examples of their genre and deserving of treatment and display.

The installation of the Italian Baroque Organ in the Fountain Court provided a perfect location for the angels, and they, in turn, served to accentuate the beauty of the organ. With more visitors coming to the Gallery to see the organ and attend concerts, conservation of the angels was applied for and approved under a Lower Hudson Conference Conservation Treatment grant. Thus they will be on display for the first time in decades.

The pair of angels is one of the unknown gems of the Gallery’s collection. As the Gallery moves into the complete reinstallation of its European galleries, every effort is being

made to include appropriate works, whether in storage or on view. The installation of the angels within an architectural

                             

space and at the height they were meant to be seen will enable visitors to achieve a visual sense of their original placement and meaning.

What is special about these angels in addition to their beauty and animation? What are angels?

The word “angel” means messenger within the Christian tradition. Angels are said to be superhuman beings, intermediaries between God and man. They are endowed with great power and intellect. When they are delivering a message from God to man, they are said to appear as young men robed in dazzling white.

Angels are believed to serve as guardians to humans on their journey to heaven, protecting them if threatened by dangers on the way. While a wayfarer, each human has his special guardian angel to watch over him and to guide him throughout his journey.

Today probably the most familiar image of angels in our culture is not as guardians, but in a group, coming together in the sky to announce the birth of the Messiah on Christmas Eve.

Though nine choirs or categories of angels (seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels) are named in the Hebrew and Christian scripture, only three angels are mentioned by name in the Bible: Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael.

In the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26-37), the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she had been chosen by God to become the mother of the Messiah. It was also Gabriel who told Zachariah that, despite his old age and his wife, Elizabeth’s, sterility, they would become the parents of a son, who was John the Baptist (Luke 1: 38-45). (See MAG’s painting, Annunciation to Zachariah.)

Raphael is known for healing. It was he who contacted the young Tobias and taught him how to cure the blindness of his father by catching a fish and laying the liver of the fish on his father’s eyes (as in MAG’s painting of Tobias and the Angel).

Michael is the angelic warrior. It was he who drove Lucifer, or Satan, out of heaven because of his rebellion against God.  Michael is pictured with helmet, unsheathed sword and shield, often with his foot on the head of the demon Satan, who lies on the ground in defeat. Michael also guards the gates of heaven and is sometimes shown holding the scales of justice to judge the worthiness of the human waiting to get in.

MAG’s angels are not named--unless we name them. Look at them carefully when they arrive and enjoy their beauty.