Sculpture of an angel as a work of art

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Heavenly spirits and messengers of God, to whom people often turn for help, have always occupied a special place in legends and different religions. Guardian angels, endowed with special power, are mediators between man and the Lord. Beings of a higher order descended from heaven monitor the actions of earthly inhabitants, protecting them from adversity.

People, inspired by the constant presence of angels in their lives, created sculptures, icons, paintings in their honor that caught the eye.

In our article, let's talk about noteworthy interesting sculptures that cause different reactions.

St. Angel's Bridge

In 134 AD, a five-arch bridge was erected in Rome, connecting the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, which became his tomb, and the banks of the Tiber River. There is a legend about how the archangel Michael appeared on top of the castle that turned into the residence of the Roman popes, announcing the end of the plague that had engulfed the ancient city. After that, the mausoleum was named Castel Sant'Angelo.

The bridge, which became a kind of transition from secular life to the shrines of the Vatican, after the installation of sculptural images of the messengers of God on it, symbolized the history of the suffering of Jesus. Sculptural compositions made of marble are located at the very beginning of the bridge.

Symbols of Christ's suffering

The sculpture of an angel with a pillar symbolized the scourging of Christ. The heavenly messenger, created by Bernini, uses his last strength to hold a heavy load in the strongest wind, symbolizing his devotion to the chosen cause.

The angel showing the audience the nails with which Jesus was nailed to the cross is unique and interesting for its disproportionate size. Small in comparison with the body, the head differs from the rest of the compositions. The folds of layered clothes blowing in the wind are moving in different directions and do not look consistent.

The marble sculpture of an angel holding a huge cross carries an important meaning of the Christian faith. The wings lying behind the shoulders do not flutter, and it seems that they lack volume. The special emotional impact is enhanced by the tilt of the cross against the wind. Sculptures of angels created in the Baroque style (the photo is presented in the article) delight and serve as an inspiration for creative natures.

Saint Petersburg Angel

None of us have seen the messengers of God and do not know exactly what they look like. The most common image of an angel is a creature in white robes with outstretched wings behind its back. However, when on one of the benches of Izmailovskygarden in St. Petersburg, a heavenly guardian appeared, he was very different from the usual ideas.

Visitors saw a benevolent grandfather, modest and neatly dressed. His clothes - an old coat, an unfashionable hat and boots, a long scarf - indicate that he is an ordinary resident of the cultural capital. The umbrella he holds in one hand and the book in the other emphasize the exact location of the unusual hero.

Dedication to a generation that has preserved love for neighbor

The only detail that distinguishes him from the crowd of ordinary residents of St. Petersburg are the wings behind the back of an elderly man, equating him to heavenly creatures.

A small sculpture of an angel is a kind of dedication to a generation that has withstood hard trials, retaining intelligence and responsiveness. An inexpressibly touching work of art is a collective image of St. Petersburg pensioners who have not lost their openness and love for their neighbor. Local residents and tourists come to the monument of the angel, which has become legendary, leaving coins on the knees of grandfather, according to the established custom.

Sculptures on graves

Angels as conductors of the will of the Lord have always protected the human soul. It is no coincidence that relatives of the deceased like to install them in cemeteries in order to protect the peace of a loved one. And this is not just a beautiful image on the grave, but a work of art that carries great meaning.

It is impossible not to tell about the unusual sculptures of angels from around the world, installed onchurchyards. And the most frightening is the bronze figure guarding the grave in Cleveland. The black angel of death holding an upside down torch is creepy.

Traces of bronze oxidation, resembling bloody tears from empty eye sockets, terrify visitors. The symbol of a bygone life is fascinating and is considered one of the main gothic graveyard figures.

Amazing realism tombstones

In the city of Cologne there is a cemetery Melaten, known throughout the world for its sculptural ensembles. Looking almost like living angels in sculpture and relief, they keep eternal peace, admiring the special realism of three-dimensional details. Each headstone is a story that takes its roots from the Middle Ages. Thousands of innocent victims are known to have been executed during the Inquisition.

But most of the graves were built in the XIX-XX centuries in neo-Gothic and modernist style. The unique cemetery, where statues of mourning dead angels and sarcastically smiling demons are frozen, attracts tourists from all over the globe who want to find themselves in a mysterious world where death rules.

Sculptures of doves and angels embodying mourning, made of white marble, are often installed in cemeteries. Symbols of purity and eternal love perpetuate for centuries the memory of loved ones who have lost a loved one.

Dead fallen angel

But perhaps the most hyper-realistic sculpture was the work of Beijing designers creatingtheir installations of human body parts and even corpses. In this creation, organics were not used, but this did not make it any less true.

A frightening sculpture of an angel in the form of a dead elderly woman entangled in woven nets, as conceived by the authors, symbolizes the helplessness of an extraterrestrial being. People who believe in a messenger from heaven will not wait for his help, and the will of God will not reach the laity.

Designers admitted that they really wanted to show the realism of their sculpture, made of a special gel, and convey the transition from extraterrestrial to mundane.