ANGELS IN PICTURES OF THE VIRGIN MARY
 HE pictures of the Madonna, or
Virgin Mary, may be divided
into two classes; the devotional,
which illustrate the doctrines or
teaching of the early Church, and the histo-
rical, or the representation of the actual
scenes in the life of the Mother of Christ.
When the Virgin is represented wear-
ing a crown or bearing a sceptre, and
attended by worshipping angels, she is
in the character of the Queen of Angels.
The earlier examples of these pictures,
as seen in the Florentine Academy, and
in the Churches of Santa Maria Novella
and Santa Croce in Florence, are charm-
ing in their simplicity, and represent a
majestic and mystical womanhood, which
entitles them to consideration as works of
Art. But later, especially in the seven-
teenth century, these pictures degener-
ated into portraits of the self-conscious,
unintelligent prettiness of the models
from whom they were painted. This
subject was a favorite one with certain
decadent artists, and the contrast between
the most ancient and the later pictures of
it, gives one a strong impression of the
lack of reverence or ideality in men who
could thus represent that holy woman,
whose heart found expression in her
beautiful hymn, beginning, " My soul
doth magnify the Lord," St. Luke i., 46.
These pictures have neither the humility,
the intellectual power, nor the sublime
faith which the face of the Virgin Mary
should express.
FRANCESCO GRANACCI ----THE VIRGIN AND ANGELS
A favorite devotional picture was the
Coronation of the Virgin. This repre-
sentation is an emblem of the Church
Triumphant, and is one of the most
beautiful, as It was one of the most ap-
proved, of the Middle Ages. It appeals
to all hearts, since it pictures the reunion
of the Mother and Son in heaven, after
their separation by his death, and shows
him no
longer despised and rejected, but
reigning in the fullness of power, and
exalting his mother above men and
angels, welcoming her to his throne,
and placing a glorious crown upon her
head.
In the most ancient Coronations, which
are very interesting, no angels appear.
From the time of Giotto, the beginning
of the fourteenth centuiy, however,
angels were witnesses of this scene.
Fra Angelico's Coronation, in the Louvre,
in which the Virgin kneels to be crowned,
has a group of musical angels oa each
side. One of the most interesting pictures
of this subject that I have seen is
in the Academy of Venice, by Vivarini,
an artist of the island of Murano, who
lived in the fifteenth century.
It is a very large picture, having a
throne in the centre, magnificently orna-
mented and upheld by six pillars on a
splendid pedestal. Christ and the Virgin
are seated on the throne, he already
crowned, and engaged in placing the
crown on the head of Mary. The celestial
dove hovers between them, and the
Heavenly Father appears above, and rests
a hand on the shoulder of each. Above
are nine choirs of angels ; nearest are the
glowing seraphim and cherubim having
wings but otherwise so indistinct as to
be formless; above these are thrones,
holding the globe of sovereignty; to the
right are dominations, virtues, powers,
and to the left princedoms, archangels,
and angels. In the lower portion of the
same picture are prophets and Patriarchs
with the Hebrew Scriptures, the Apostles
with the Gospel, saints and martyrs, vir-
gins and holy women, lovely children
bearing the cross, nails, spear, and crown
of thorns, and the Evangelists and Fathers
of the Church. There are at least seventy
heads in this picture without the angels;
the children are beautiful, and all are
finished with great delicacy and care.
It is an invaluable example of symbolic
art, as well as an exponent of an entire
system of theology.
The Coronation was often a most splen-
did picture, as it warranted the use of
magnificent draperies and other acces-
sories. It was also a joyous picture. Every
figure introduced had an air of happiness,
and the angels were especially glad.
In the picture known as the Mother of
Mercy, the Virgin is often attended by
angels. In ancient pictures and basreliefs
of this subject, she was frequently
standing and wearing a long, full cloak,
like that of St Ursula, which was held
aside by two angels, thus disclosing groups
of kneeling suppliants, praying to her for
mercy.
Very often in this picture the Virgin
holds the Infant Jesus in her arms. In
other fine examples, notably in the mas-
terpiece of Fra Bartolommeo,in the Church
of St Romano, in Lucca, the figure of
Christ surrounded by angels is seen in
the clouds, as if he aided in these works
of compassion. Such pictures are numerous
in hospitals and charitable institutions,
especially in those that are in the
care of the Order of Mercy, where they
are singularly appropriate. A bas-relief
above the entrance to the Scuola della
Caritas, in Venice, is a fine example of
this subject.
Pictures of the so-called Pieta, repre-
sent the Virgin holding the body of the
dead Christ on her knees. The greatest
artists whose works are known to us have
represented this subject in sculpture and
painting. When it is a strictly devotional
work, the Virgin, the Christ, and mourning
angels are the only figures admissible.
There are many examples in which there
are no angels, the Mother being alone
with the dead Christ.
The Pieta by Francia, in the National
Gallery, is very beautiful in sentiment,
and in execution is full of the tenderness
of this master. The Christ is supported
by two angels, and the Virgin, with an
expression of anguish, seems to look at
the beholder as if beseeching sympathy.
In the sublimely pathetic marble group,
by Michael Angelo, in a chapel of the
Vatican, there are no angels, but we have
engravings of another Pieti by this mas-
ter, in which the Virgin sits at the foot of
the cross, her eyes raised and her arms
extended towards heaven, while two angels
support the Christ, seated lower down,
and leaning against the knees of the Virgin.
According to the custom of Michael
Angelo, these angels have no wings, but
their expression is such as would make
it impossible to mistake them for earthly
children.
There were no pictures of the Immaculate
Conception of the Virgin Mary until
the seventeenth century, when Spanish
and Italian artists vied with each other in
representing this subject, and these works
may be said to abound in angels.
When the Virgin stands on the moon
with full sunlight surrounding her, and
wearing the crown of twelve stars, she is
the personification of the woman described
in the twelfth chapter of the Book of
Revelation.
FRANCESCO FRANCIA ---A PIETA
The dogma of the Immaculate Con-
ception of the Virgin was much in favor
with the Spanish Church before its con-
firmation by the bull of Pope Paul V.
in 1617, which was welcomed in Seville,
not only by the most solemn religious
services, but also by the booming of cannon,
and the celebration of bull-fights,
tournaments, and banquets. Spain and
all its colonies were placed under the
protection of the Immaculate Conception.
Even now, almost three centuries after
this event, it is not unusual for Spaniards
to use the salute," Ave Maria purissima!"
the response being," Sin peccado
concepida !"
Not long after the publication of the
bull, Pacheco laid down rules for the rep-
resentation of this subject in Art, which have
been conscientiously followed. The Vir-
gin is very young, her hair golden, her
robe white, and her mantle blue. The
angels near her bear roses, lilies, and
palms. She stands on the moon, wears
the starry crown, and the vanquished
dragon is beneath hen As the Franciscans
were always enthusiastically devoted
to this dogma, it was usual to
represent the girdle of the Virgin by
the cord of the Franciscans.
Murillo, the painter of this subject par
excellence, was not strictly bound by
Pacheco's rules. He adhered to the colors
prescribed for the drapery ; he varied the
tint of the hair, and often was not
careful to represent the cord of St.
Francis. He never omitted the moon,
but it was sometimes full rather than in
the crescent, and he pointed the horns
upward, while Pacheco directed them to
point downward ; and he usually omitted
the starry crown. But so satisfactory were
Murillo's Immaculate Conceptions that he
was never accused of being unorthodox.
MURILLO, THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION,
PICTURES OF THE VIRGIN MARY. 239
Other pictures of the Madonna, by this
great Spanish master, are wanting in the
characteristics which he invariably gives
the Virgin in this subject. Others are
commonplace, and might be duplicated
among Spanish peasant women; but the
Virgin of his Conceptions are ideal.
Spotlessly pure, full of grace and repose,
exquisite in refinement and delicacy, her
hands folded on her breast, and her
sweetly serious eyes raised as in prayer,
she seems a fitting companion to the
angels about her, but all unsuited to
the sufferings of the life before her.
Murillo painted this picture twenty-five
times, and no two of these works are
exactly the same, although the differences
are sometimes slight The angels are so
numerous that they seem to fill all space,
and to be coming forward in still greater
numbers out of the depths of the sky.
If the dragon is there, he is concealed by
these lovely, spiritual attendants on the
queen of their order.
Guido Reni painted several pictures of
this subject which was well suited to the
master of the Aurora, and afforded full
play to his ideal of beauty, and his delicacy
of execution.
But it was in the Spanish school that
these pictures were multiplied, and this is
not strange when we remember that every
candidate admitted to the academy of
painting in Seville was required to declare
his full belief in " the most pure conception
of Our Lady."
Mr. Stirling, in his handbook of Spain,
speaks of a Conception by Roelas, painted
before the time of Murillo, which he
calls "equal to Guido." Velasquez also
painted a fine Conception, probably before
the rules of Pacheco were known, as
the Virgin's robe is violet, and she has
no unusual beauty. It is, however, a
solemn and remarkable work in the bold,
early style of this great artist.
In the ancient pictures of the Enthroned
Madonna there are always
attendant angels; in some later works
they are omitted. In this subject the
Madonna holds the Infant Jesus on her
lap, and is surrounded by angels, The
earliest Enthroned Madonnas represent
the Virgin seated between the Archangels
St. Michael and St Gabriel, as symbolic
of life and death. This representation
dates from the eighth century in the
carved ivories of the Greek Church, and
was repeated in sculpture and glass
painting during six or seven hundred
years.
Later St Gabriel appears in the
Annunciation only, but as St Michael
was the guardian of Jesus and his mother
in their earthly life, he is often beside them,
as well as St Raphael the guardian
spirit of all human beings. Perugino
presents both these guardian archangels
in his lovely picture in the National
Gallery.
This is one of the rare examples in
which the three archangels are seen
together, each with his appropriate
symbol.
In the usual picture of this subject the
Madonna is literally enthroned, her throne
being rich and decorative. Raphael,
however, placed her on the clouds, the
child standing beside her, and the angels
below, rather than above them. This
might be called the Madonna in Glory,
although she is seated on the clouds as
on a throne.
Angels were represented as attendant
upon the Virgin very early in the history
of Art. Even the ancient mosaics of
Ravenna show them about her throne,
SANDRO BOTTICELLI. MADONNA AND ANGELS,
came to be more and more considered,
angels were represented as adoring her,
sustaining her throne, and performing a
variety of services, the most charming
being that of the musical angels.
When Art reached the height of the
fifteenth century, the angelic choristers
were exquisite in beauty and in sentiment,
as they knelt or stood near the Virgin, or
sat upon the steps of her throne, playing
upon lute and pipe, or singing as only
angels can.
There are so-called half-length En-
throned Madonnas, in which the Virgin
and Child and angels alone appear.
Occasionally the Infant St John the
Baptist is introduced in these pictures,
as in the illustration here given, after
Botticelli.
The picture known as the Mater Amabilis,
in which the Madonna caresses the
Child, or tenderly gazes at him, rarely has
the angelic attendants, but Gian Bellini
filled the background of such a picture
with winged cherub heads.
There are two classes of pictures of the
Madonna and Child, in which the little
St. John Baptist is present When St.
John adores Jesus, kisses his feet, or in
any way seems to recognize his superiority,
it is a purely devotional picture,
while a great number of others are
simply domestic, friendly scenes. In
all of these angels appear in varying
numbers.
An exquisite picture, by Filippino
Lippi, shows the kneeling Virgin adoring
the Child, who rests on the ground, while
near by the little St. John also kneels.
The group is surrounded by five angels,
one of whom scatters roses over the Infant,
while the others worship him with
folded hands.
Among the historical and legendary
subjects illustrative of the life of the
Virgin, are those connected with her
parents, Joachim and Anna, her Nativity
and Presentation in the Temple, and her
life there, her Marriage and all the
scenes preceding the Annunciation. Of
the latter I have written in connection
with the Angel Gabriel. Many of these
pictures are very beautiful, and angels
are frequently introduced in them.
After the Annunciation follows the
Visitation, or the Salutation of Elizabeth.
I know of but one fine picture of this
scene by Pinturicchio in which angels
are present at the meeting of the
Holy Women. It is a poetic conception,
and the humility of the two angels, with
downcast eyes and folded hands, gives
them the appearance of attendants on the
journey of the Virgin, rather than that of
witnesses of the Salutation.
The Nativity of Christ, the Adoration
of the Shepherds, and the Adoration of
the Magi Wise Men have been rep-
resented in a variety of ways, and are
subjects easily distinguished. The first
two are most effective when treated with
perfect simplicity, with no accessories
unsuited to the humble condition of
Joseph and Mary and the Shepherds;
with such scenes the presence of the
angels is in perfect harmony. The Nativity
by Albertinelli, in the Uffizi Gallery,
and the Adoration of the Shepherds by
Correggio, in the Dresden gallery, are fine
examples of these subjects.
The Adoration of the Magi, or Kings,
as the legends call them, admits of all
the splendor that an artist desires to
depict Many pictures of this scene display
magnificent collections of vases,
ewers, and other vessels of gold and silver,
while the costumes, jewelled diadems,
and chains of the Kings, are as gorgeous
in texture and color as Veronese, Rubens,
Rembrandt, and other artists could make
them. Veronese perhaps excelled all
others in making his Adoration of the
Kings, in the Dresden gallery, an imposing
and gorgeous pageant
Angels are by no means a necessary
part of this scene, but are always present
in the earliest representations of it A
poetic element is imparted to this picture
when the angelic announcement of the
birth of Jesus to the Shepherds is introduced
in the background; or when the
star which directed the Magi in their
course appears in the sky, surrounded by
angel heads.
In representations of the Flight into
Egypt, which Joseph had been directed
to make, by an angel in a dream, these
heavenly attendants are seen bringing
fruits and flowers to the travellers, pitching
their tents, leading the ass on which
the Virgin rides, watching over them by
night, and serving them by day.
So in the Repose in Egypt, one of
the most charming of these kindred
subjects, the attendant angels are a
delightful feature, and so varied are
their occupations, and so fanciful the
conceits of the painters of this scene,
that many pages might be devoted to a
description of them. For example, Van
Dyck, in his picture in the Ashburton
collection, has represented the Virgin
seated under a spreading tree, holding
the Child, while a number of angels
dance in a round to the music made by
other angels in the clouds above.
Lucas Cranach shows the angels washing
linen; Albert Diirer represents St.
Joseph as shaping a piece of wood with
his axe ; some of the many angels present
gather up the chips and put them in
baskets; others dance and frolic merrily
VAN DYCK REPOSE IN EGYPT
about the group, while still other more
serious angels, probably guardian spirits,
devoutly folding their hands, stand or
kneel around the cradle of the Infant Jesus.
Titian, in one of his pictures of this
subject, introduced a little angel who
waters the ass in a stream. Rembrandt
gives his Repose the air of a gipsy camp,
which is emphasized by the fact that the
only light comes from a lantern hung on
a tree. I do not know who painted a
Repose that I have seen, to which a very
human feeling is imparted by St Joseph ;
he is shaking his fist at the ass, which has
opened its mouth to bray.
In the almost numberless representations
of the Madonna and Child, and of
the Holy Family, angels are frequently
introduced. These subjects are so easily
recognized, and, speaking generally, are
so simply treated as to require no comment
here.
I have referred to the legend that an
angel announced the approach of death to
the Virgin Mary, and have explained the
difference between the symbolism of this
subject, and that of the Annunciation of
the birth of Jesus, all of which is made
clear by our illustration.
In pictures of the death scene there are
always angels present, in greater or lesser
numbers. In the representations of the
Assumption of the Virgin she is sometimes
borne upward by angels, and again
she ascends without aid. In all cases she
is attended by choirs of angels, as in the
magnificent Assumption by Titian, which
is the pride of the Academy in Venice.
In the purely devotional Assumptions
such as that sculptured above the portal
of the Cathedral of Florence, the Santa
Maria del Fiore, the Virgin is within
the mandorla, or almond-shaped aureole.
She is clothed in white and wears a veil
TITIAN, THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN.
and crown ; her hands are joined and she
ascends in a glory of light, surrounded
by angels. The only special difference
in these sculptures is the position of the
Virgin, who sometimes sits, and again
stands upright, in the mandorla. When
the representation corresponds to this, ex-
cept that the Virgin has no crown, it may
more properly be called the Glorification
of the Virgin,
Besides the representations of angels
who make a part of the devotional and
historical scenes in the lives of Christ
and the Virgin, of the Evangelists, Apostles,
and Fathers of the Church, there are
a great number that Illustrate the legends
of the saints. For example, that of St
Cecilia, whose music charmed even the
angelic choirs, so that the angels brought
to her the roses of Paradise, is one of the
most beautiful.
After the death of St Catherine of
Alexandria, angels bore her body to the
top of Mount Sinai, as represented in
our illustration by Mucke.
When St Christina was beaten and
thrown into a dungeon, angels bound up
her wounds, and St. Agatha was comforted
by them in her prison.
These are a few examples of the numerous
appearances of angels in the legends
of the saints.
Perhaps there are no artistic representations
that appeal to a greater number
of people, of all possible types, than
do those of angels, in both sculpture and
painting. One reason for this seems to
me to be that angels represent our highest
ideal of created beings, beings that
we can only realize through the power of
imagination, either our own imagination
or that of another. It may be that of a
writer, who, in a vivid word-picture, con-
jures up before us a vision of beings that
we have not seen, as do Dante and Milton.
Or it may be a sculptor or painter
who, rendering his own ideal, helps us to
see with his eyes and to accept or reject
his work as it appeals to, or repels us.
This recalls the words of Ruskin when
he says that the noblest use of imagination
is to " enable us to bring sensibly to
our sight the things which are recorded
as belonging to our future state, or as
invisibly surrounding us in this. It is
given us, that we may imagine the cloud
of witnesses in heaven and earth, and see,
as if they were now present, the souls of
the righteous waiting for us ; that we may
conceive the great army of the inhabitants
of heaven, and discover among them those
whom we most desire to be with forever ;
that we may be able to vision forth the
ministry of angels beside us, and see the
chariots of fire on the mountains that gird
us round; but, above all, to call up the
scenes and facts in which we are com-
manded to believe, and be present, as if
in the body, at every recorded event of
the history of the Redeemer."
With such a thought in mind, it is well
worth while to study the various types of
angels which are a rich portion of the
legacies of the artists to the world. It
is surely right to attempt to imagine
the glories of a sphere beyond this,
a heaven of purity and glory. One of
the most powerful aids to this imagination
is the contemplation of religious
pictures, especially those that were executed
with such reverence and sincerity
as make them appear to reproduce actual
scenes, and, for the time, carry us out of
ourselves and into the imaginary earth
and heaven of the master whose works
we study.
Thus we may leave this brief review of
the subject of Angels in Art, feeling that
its further development by each reader for
himself is a pursuit in harmony with St.
Paul's admonition: "Whatsoever things
are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any
praise, think on these things."
THE END
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