THE ARCHANGEL RAPHAEL.
REPRESENTATIONS OF THREE, AND OF FOUR ARCHANGELS.
The Archangel Raphael is esteemed as the guardian angel of the human
race. He especially protects the young and innocent, and guards pilgrims
and travellers from harm. It was he who warned Adam of the danger of
sin, and declared to him its dread consequences. Milton thus interprets
the message:
“Be strong, live happy, and love! but first of all
Him, whom to love is to obey, and keep
His great command; take heed lest passion sway
Thy judgment to do aught, which else free-will
Would not admit; thine, and of all thy sons
The weal or woe in thee is placed; beware!”
That Raphael’s language was benevolent and sympathetic, as imagined by
the poet, appears in Adam’s farewell to the angel:
“Since to part
Go, heavenly guest, ethereal messenger,
Sent from whose sovereign goodness I adore!
Gentle to me, and affable hath been
Thy condescension, and shall be honor’d ever
With grateful memory. Thou to mankind
Be good and friendly still, and oft return!”
Representations of St. Raphael are far less numerous than are those of
St. Michael and St. Gabriel. They are always pleasing, and present him
as a benign, sympathetic, and companionable friend to those whom he
serves. His symbol is habitually a pilgrim’s staff; as a guardian he
wears a sword, and has a small casket or vase, containing the “fishy
charm” against evil spirits. He wears a pilgrim’s dress, has sandals on
his feet, and a pilgrim bottle or wallet hangs from his belt. His
flowing hair is bound by a diadem, and his beautiful face expresses the
benevolence of his character and mission.
Many chapels and some churches are dedicated to the Archangel Raphael,
as the chief of celestial guardians, and in these are numerous pictures
commemorating his benevolent deeds. The greater part of the
representations of this archangel are so connected with the history of
Tobias, that it is necessary to know his story, in order to enjoy or
understand these pictures. I will give this beautiful Hebrew narrative
as concisely as possible:
Tobit was a rich man, and just; and he and his wife, Sara, were carried
into captivity by the Assyrians. He gave alms to all his people, lived
justly, and ate not the bread of the Gentiles. His misfortunes,
however, increased; he had but his wife and his son, Tobias, left to
him, when he became blind, and prayed for death.
At the same time a man named Raguel, who dwelt in Ecbatane, was
afflicted with a daughter who was persecuted by an evil spirit. She had
married seven husbands, and each one had been killed by the fiend, as
soon as he entered the bridal chamber. The maiden was accused of these
murders, and, like Tobit, she prayed for death.
God then sent the Archangel Raphael to cure the blindness of Tobit, and
take away the reproach of the unhappy daughter of Raguel of Ecbatane.
At this time Tobit desired his son, Tobias, to go to Gabael in Media to
receive ten talents, which Tobit had left in trust with Gabael. Tobias
asked, “How can I receive the money, seeing I know him not?” Tobit gave
Tobias the handwriting, and bade him seek a guide for his journey.
Raphael then offered to guide the young man, who knew not that he spoke
with an archangel. Tobias led Raphael to his father, and they agreed
upon the wages the guide should receive, and Tobit gave directions
concerning the journey, while he and Sara, his wife, were greatly
afflicted at parting with Tobias.
At evening the travellers came to the river Tigris, and when Tobias went
to bathe, a fish leapt out at him. Raphael told the youth to take out
the liver and gall of the fish and preserve it carefully, which being
done, they roasted the fish and ate it. When Tobias asked why he should
keep the liver and the gall, the angel told him that the heart and liver
would cure a person vexed with an evil spirit, if a smoke from them was
made before the person; and the gall would cure the blindness of one
afflicted with whiteness of the eyes.
In our illustration from the picture by Andrea del Sarto, in the
Belvedere, Vienna, Tobias carries the fish, and it appears to represent
the moment when Raphael is making his explanation of its purpose.
As they proceeded Raphael said: “Brother, to-day we shall lodge with
Raguel, who is thy cousin; he hath but one daughter, named Sara; I will
ask her as a wife for thee: she belongs to thee by law, and is fair and
wise, and you can marry her when we return.” Then Tobias, who knew the
fate of the seven husbands, was filled with fear lest he too should die,
and thus afflict his parents, who had no other child.
But Raphael assured Tobias that Sara
[Illustration: ANDREA DEL SARTO.--THE ARCHANGEL RAPHAEL CONDUCTING THE
YOUNG TOBIAS.]
was the wife that the Lord intended for him, and that when he entered
the marriage chamber the evil spirit would flee at the smoke he should
make with the liver of the fish, and would never return. When Tobias
heard this he loved the maiden, and his heart was effectually joined to
her.
When they came near Ecbatane, they met Sara, and she led them to her
parents, who rejoiced to see them, and wept when they heard of the
blindness of Tobit. While the servants of Raguel prepared a supper,
Tobias said to the angel, “Speak of those things of which thou didst
talk, and let this business be despatched.” Then Raphael asked Raguel to
give Sara to Tobias; but the father was sore distressed, and told of the
death of the seven who had already married her; but as Sara belonged to
Tobias by the law of Moses, his request could not be denied, and before
they did eat together, Raguel joined their hands, and blessed them.
Then the marriage chamber was prepared, and the maiden wept; but her
mother comforted her, and when Tobias entered and made the smoke as the
angel had directed, the evil spirit fled. Tobias and Sara knelt in
thankfulness, and Tobias prayed as Raphael had told him, and Sara said,
“Amen.”
In the morning Raguel dug a grave, for he wished to bury Tobias quickly,
that no one should know what had happened; but when he sent to see if he
were dead, it was found that the young husband was quietly sleeping.
Then there was great rejoicing, and a wedding feast was made, which
lasted fourteen days. Meanwhile, Raphael went to Gabael and received
from him the ten talents, and when the feast ended, the angel conducted
Tobias and Sara to Tobit, and Raguel bestowed on Sara half his wealth.
As they approached Nineveh, Raphael said to Tobias, “Let us haste before
thy wife, to prepare the house: and take thou the gall of the fish.” The
mother of Tobias was watching for his return, and was greatly alarmed at
his long absence. When she saw him with his guide, and the little dog
which he had taken away, she ran to Tobit with the news, and they
rejoiced greatly. Raphael now said to Tobias, “I know that thy father
will open his eyes; therefore anoint them with the gall, and being
pricked therewith, he shall rub them, and the whiteness shall fall away,
and he shall see thee.” And so it was, and Tobit was blind no more, and
they all rejoiced and blessed God.
Then Tobias recounted all that had happened, and his parents went out
with him to meet his wife, and her servants, and cattle, and all she
had brought with her. And the people were filled with wonder to see that
Tobit was blind no more, and they rejoiced greatly with him during seven
days when he kept a feast.
Tobit bade his son to call his guide and give him more than the wages
that had been named. And Tobias wished to give the angel half of all he
had brought back with him, and Tobit said, “It is due unto him.” But
when Raphael knew their intentions he commanded them to glorify God for
all his goodness, and told Tobit that his goodness and sorrows and those
of the daughter of Raguel had been known in heaven, and God had sent him
to heal all these troubles; and added, “I am Raphael, one of the seven
holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and go in and out
before the glory of the Holy One.”
Our illustration after the picture of
[Illustration: GIOVANNI BILIVERTI.--THE ARCHANGEL RAPHAEL REFUSING THE
GIFTS OF TOBIAS.]
Giovanni Biliverti in the Pitti Gallery, Florence, places before us the
scene, when, refusing reward, the Archangel declared himself. The beauty
of the angel, the affectionate enthusiasm of Tobias, and the sincere and
reverent gratitude of the old Tobit are wonderfully portrayed, while the
young wife and the aged mother in the background complete the group of
those who have been delivered from their sorrows by the messenger of the
Most High.
From the time when the angel left them Tobit and Raguel prospered, and
after Tobit and Sara died, Tobias removed to Ecbatane and inherited the
wealth of Raguel; he lived with honor to be an hundred and seven and
twenty years old, and to hear of the destruction of Nineveh.
Milton thus refers to the story of Tobias:
“The affable archangel
Raphael; the sociable spirit that design’d
To travel with Tobias, and secured
His marriage with the seven times wedded maid.”
Raphael is frequently represented without wings when leading Tobias,
who--in order to emphasize the contrast between an angel and a
mortal--is made very small, and is thus manifestly out of keeping with
the story. When the wings appear there is no reason for dwarfing Tobias,
and the picture is far more satisfactory. It is not difficult to discern
that if the story of Tobias is considered as an allegory, the young man
personates the Christian, guided and guarded through life by God’s
mercy.
There is, in Verona, in the Church of St. Euphemia, a most impressive
chapel which was decorated with pictures illustrating the story of
Tobias, by Carotto, a pupil of Mantegna, who seems to have painted more
in the manner of Leonardo than in that of his master.
Various incidents of the story are effectively pictured, but the famous
altar-piece, the greatest work by Carotto, is the most important of the
number. It represents the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and
Raphael,--three exquisite wingless figures,--the latter being in the
centre, and the only one having an aureole. He is leading Tobias, and
looking down at the youth with an expression of tenderness.
St. Michael is on the right; one hand rests on his great sword, while
with the other he lifts his crimson robe. His countenance, serious and
indomitable in expression, fitly indicates the characteristics that his
titles imply. He is the Lord of Souls and the Angel of Judgment, so far
as human imagination can picture so exalted a celestial being.
St. Gabriel, on the left, holding a lily, and gazing heavenward in
adoration, is a beautiful, angelic figure, far less powerful than the
other archangels, and quite in harmony with his office.
The impression on my mind, made by this picture, is that Gabriel
realizes that his blessed office has been fulfilled, his active work is
done, and adoration is now his duty and his joy; but Michael and Raphael
have still their great missions to perfect; they are still battling
against evil, and guiding men in the paths of righteousness.
Carotto was a native of Verona, and his pictures are rarely seen
elsewhere. His color is warm and well blended, while his drawing is
severe. It is said that he was but twenty-five years old when he
decorated the Chapel of St. Raphael, in 1495. He was of a quick wit, and
when told that the legs of his angels were
[Illustration: SANDRO BOTTICELLI.--THE ARCHANGEL RAPHAEL.
(FROM A PICTURE OF TOBIAS AND THE THREE ARCHANGELS.)]
too slender, he instantly replied, “Then they will fly the easier.”
A very famous and wonderful picture of the three archangels with Tobias,
by Botticelli, is in the Academy of Florence. The angels of this artist
are frequently criticised for a certain stiffness, but their beautiful
faces more than redeem any fault in their figures, and have a sweetness
and depth of expression that appeals to the heart and makes one forget
less important details.
A picture of St. Raphael leading Tobias, in the Church of St. Marziale
in Venice, is said to be the earliest remaining work by Titian. For this
reason it is most interesting, but it is certainly not so beautiful as
that of Carotto, nor as that of Raphael, called the Madonna del
Pesce,--the Madonna of the Fish,--in the Madrid Gallery, in which the
master pictures the archangel whose name he bore.
Of this last picture Passavant says, “Here Christian poetry has found
its highest expression; for it is poetry which touches all nations the
most deeply, and beauty alone can give an idea of divinity.”
In the famous Madonna del Pesce, the Virgin is seated on a throne with
the child; the young Tobias, holding a fish in his hand, and led by the
Archangel Raphael, comes to implore Jesus to cure his father’s
blindness. The Infant Saviour looks at Tobias, while his hand is on an
open book which St. Jerome holds before him; the symbolic lion crouches
at the feet of the saint. The background of the picture is principally
formed by a curtain, but on the right a small opening of sky is seen.
The whole picture is executed in the best style of the artist’s mature
power, while it is full of the fervent piety of his earlier works. The
Virgin is the ideal of purity and loveliness; the child is radiant with
divine beauty; the angel is celestial in his bearing and his
countenance, while the head of the reverend saint is grand and noble in
expression.
Raphael’s Madonnas sometimes seem to be but simple domestic women,
gifted with beauty; in them no trace of a mystical or spiritual nature
appears; but the Madonna del Pesce, like the Madonna di San Sisto, and
the Madonna di Fuligno, justifies the eulogy of Vasari, when he says,
“Raphael has shown all the beauty which can be imagined in the
expression of a Virgin; in the eyes there is modesty, on the brow there
shines honor, the nose is of a very graceful character, the mouth
betokens sweetness and excellence.” The color of the Madonna del Pesce
is admirably clear and harmonious, even for this great master.
This Madonna was originally painted for the Church of San Domenico
Maggiore, at Naples, in which church a chapel had been erected as an
especial place of worship for the numerous Neapolitans who suffer from
diseases of the eye; it was not, however, permitted to serve its
intended purpose, and has had an interesting history.
It is said that the Duke of Medina, when Viceroy of Naples, took the
picture from the Dominicans without the consent of the government, and
when the prior complained to the Pope, Medina had him escorted to the
frontier by fifty horsemen, and expelled from the kingdom. In 1644 the
Duke took the Virgin with the Fish to Spain, and Philip IV. placed it in
the Escurial. In 1813, when the French were compelled to leave Spain,
they took this picture, with many others, to Paris.
It was painted on a panel and was in bad condition, and Bonnemaison was
commissioned to transfer it to canvas. This work was not completed in
1815, when other pictures which had been taken from Spain were returned,
and this Madonna remained in France until 1822. Naturally, it must have
lost something of its original excellence, but it still holds a place of
honor in the wonderful Italian Gallery of the Madrid Museum; it is a
rival of the famous Dresden Madonna--di San Sisto--in the regard of many
connoisseurs in art.
The various scenes from the story of Raphael and Tobias have been
represented in the works of artists of all nations. Rembrandt four times
painted the parting of Tobias from his father and mother, and several
other incidents in the story. His picture in the Louvre, of the
departure of the Archangel, is remarkable for its spirited action. As
the angel ascends, flying through the air, he seems to part the clouds
as a strong swimmer passes through the breakers of the sea.
There have been many curious conceits introduced into some of the early
religious pictures, and I have seen two instances in which little
seraphim and angels are perched on trees, near the Virgin and Holy
Child. The idea seems to be that these “Birds of God”--as Dante calls
the angels--are making music and singing for the Divine Infant, some of
them also praying for his solace.
Occasionally a series of pictures called the Acts of the Holy Angels has
been painted. It consists of eleven strictly Scriptural subjects,
usually as follows, but varied in some instances by the introduction of
other motives of the same character, as, for example, the angel
appearing to Hagar and to Elijah:
I. The Fall of Lucifer.
II. The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
III. The Visit of Three Angels to Abraham.
IV. The Angel Preventing the Sacrifice of Isaac.
V. The Angel Wrestling with Jacob.
VI. Jacob’s Dream.
VII. The Deliverance of the Three Children from the Fiery Furnace.
VIII. The Angel Slays the Host of Sennacherib.
IX. The Angel Protects Tobias.
X. The Punishment of Heliodorus.
XI. The Annunciation to the Virgin.
I have already said that of the seven archangels to whom Milton refers,
when he says:
“The Seven
Who in God’s presence, nearest to his throne,
Stand ready at command,”
but three are recognized by the Christian Church; and when three
archangels are seen together, they are Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.
In the Greek Church this representation is regarded as typical of the
military, civil, and religious power, and, accordingly, the costumes
indicate a soldier, a prince, and a priest.
But Uriel has not been entirely ignored, even by the Christian Church,
and an early tradition teaches that this archangel, and not Christ,
accompanied the two disciples on their way to Emmaus. In the book of
Esdras we read, “The angel that was sent unto me, whose name was Uriel.”
His office was that of interpreter of judgments and prophecies, which
Milton recognizes thus:
“Uriel, for thou of those Seven Spirits that stand
In sight of God’s high throne, gloriously bright,
The first art wont his great authentic will
Interpreter through highest heaven to bring.”
In several ancient churches four archangels are represented in the
architectural decoration. An example in which they are very splendid is
that in the mosaics above the choir arch in the Cathedral of Monreale,
Palermo. These colossal, armed figures are impressive, not only from
their size, but also because of their apparent realization of their
illustrious rank in the order of created beings.
More frequently the four archangels are so represented as to appear to
sustain the roof, or vault, in churches where the figure of Christ, or
his symbol, the Lamb, is pictured as the central decoration. These are
clearly intended to personate the four “who sustain the throne of God.”
Their symbols are sceptres or lances; at times they stand erect, like
faithful, watchful guardians; again with arms outstretched they seem to
uphold the vault on which Christ is portrayed.
The representations of three archangels are more numerous than the
above, and are variously treated. In some ancient pictures they have no
wings, and appear like men of princely rank and noble character. I have
seen the visitors of Abraham thus represented, which accords with the
Hebrew idea of angels at the period when Abraham was thus honored; for,
as I have mentioned, it was not until after the captivity, when the
Egyptian custom of giving wings to their representations of messengers
had been observed, that the cherubim and seraphim covered the mercy-seat
with their wings.
One of the best known and most beautiful pictures of these angelic
visitors is that by Raphael in the fourth arcade of the Loggie of the
Vatican.