The Usage of Angels in Art

Since times long past the Bible has been a source of inspiration for a great many artists, and many depict angels in their work. It is commonly held, however, that angels are physically invisible and cannot be seen by the human eye. There are, therefore, many differing depictions of angels in the world of art. Angels are used by many artists in a number of different ways.

Angels are most commonly depicted in art as having generally human characteristics. Although they are also often shown as humans who have wings, when they are depicted as having human form they generally do not have any wings. In addition, most angels depicted in art are typically young men.

An important trait to note about the angels seen in art is that they have the ability to switch between their angelic and human forms. Theologians, however, believe that angels do not exist on the physical plane, and some artists therefore prefer to depict angels in a more traditional form in their work, keeping them more heavenly in appearance.

There is a large variety of activities that angels as depicted in art are shown to be engaged in. Many angels depicted in art are shown as guardians of some sort, and artists hailing from the fifteenth century were particularly fond of this form of depiction of angels. Another common form of depiction of angels is in the form of messengers, playing various musical instruments such as the horn, and thus relaying messages. Yes another method of depicting angels is through the use of Biblical events, commonly from the Book of Revelation.

Interestingly, while angels are often depicted as being young men, they do not actually have any specific gender. While most angels have duties that seem to be more suited to males, such as guarding Eden and Hell or being warriors and messengers, the Bible of angels contains no specific descriptions of the genders of angels. In languages where gender is required for nouns, however, "angel" is typically used in the masculine form. Derivatives of the word are usually masculine as well. Thus angels are generally depicted as being male.

There are, however, some depictions of angels wherein the angels are female. Generally, guardian angels are more commonly depicted as being female while archangels, which are supposed to be stronger and more masculine, are more often male. This is due to the influence of Western culture.

The way in which angels are depicted in art is usually fairly predictable and most artists will depict angels as being masculine in nature and having a form resembling that of a human. Differences between various depictions usually lie in the nature of the activities that angels are shown to be engaged in, and these differences in the way angels are depicted are of interest to art and Biblical studies to this day.