GUARDIAN ANGELS, ANGEL CHORISTERS, AND ADORING ANGELS--DEMONS AND
EVIL SPIRITS.
From the classification of the angelic hosts by the early theologians,
and the special duties assigned to each class, we learn that the word
angels, as ordinarily used, refers to archangels and angels only; these
two classes are associated with human life in all its phases, while
princedoms protect monarchies, thrones sustain the throne of God,
cherubs continually worship, and seraphs adore the Most High.
A belief in guardian angels--those especially devoted to the care of
individuals--is far more widespread than the realism of the present day
is inclined to admit. The godly man has a sure warrant for this trust in
the ninety-first psalm:
“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most
High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither
shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his
angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”
We cannot think of angels as a reality in the winged, human forms that
have been given them in Art, any more than we can look for mermaids to
rise from the waters mentioned in the charming legends in which these
maidens acted their parts. These imaginary and apparently palpable
angels are but allegories, which long have been and continue to be the
angels of Art, and we could not willingly give them up. We know that
[Illustration: FRA ANGELICO.--ANGEL CHORISTERS.]
they are impossible, even fantastic, if we permit ourselves to be
matter-of-fact; but as emblems of spiritual guardians, sent to mortals
by an ever-watchful Father, we love them; and we wish to believe in
guardian angels for those who are dear to us, even if we cannot realize
them for ourselves.
In one of the early councils of the Church the form of angels was
considered, and it was maintained by John of Thessalonica that they were
in shape like men, and should be thus represented. This decision is
supported by the supposition that God spoke to the angels when he said,
“Let us make man after _our_ image;” and again by Daniel, when he
describes his heavenly visitors as “like unto the similitude of the sons
of men.”
A guardian angel must be ever beside his charge from the beginning to
the end of life, not only to guard from evil, but also to incite to
good. In sorrow he is a comforter; in weakness, strength; even in death
he is faithful, and contends against the evil spirits who fight for the
possession of every soul; and after death he bears the spirit to St.
Michael, the Lord of Souls. Thus is the guardian angel represented in
Art, as is seen in our illustration called the Angel of Peace.
When we observe a beautiful, unselfish life that rises far above its
surroundings, we recall the belief in angelic guardians, and the
description which Milton gave of a chaste, saintly soul:
“A thousand liveried angels lackey her,
Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt;
And in clear dream and solemn vision
Tell her of things that no gross ear can hear,
Till oft converse with heav’nly habitants
Begin to cast a beam on th’ outward shape.”
The impersonality of angels is one of their most precious qualities. An
angel
[Illustration: KAULBACH.--THE ANGEL OF PEACE.]
is never active except as the agent of the Almighty, deputed to manifest
his mercy and love to the pious, or to inflict his punishments on the
wicked. Thus angels must be perfect beings; and while they love to
serve, their service is void of the personality which is inherent in all
human service. When they sing together it is because some good has come
to men, and when they mourn it is for human affliction.
According to the teaching of the Fathers of the Church to which we have
referred, the combat between good and evil angels is unceasing, and they
also warrant Christians in invoking the aid of angels, and believing
them to be ever near to prevent evil and encourage good. From the views
of the early theologians the artists evolved their manner of
representing the hosts of heaven, and while for a time angels were
represented as colossal, gradually they became more graceful and
lovely, as well as more human.
An ideal, a thought, must be personified to be represented to the eye,
and I doubt if any new personification of angels could satisfactorily
replace that which has been developed in Art during sixteen centuries,
and to which we are accustomed from our earliest childhood. The angels
that are known in pictures, watching over children, preventing harm to
individuals, as in the sacrifice of Isaac, encouraging or even
compelling worthy action, as in the case of Balaam, are dear to the
heart of the world.
The representations of guardian angels in the more homely relations,
watching sleeping infants, guiding their feeble steps,--as is seen in
our frontispiece,--and shielding them from accidents, are modern. To the
end of the sixteenth century guardian angels, while engaged in all
these minor duties, according to the teaching of the Church, were only
represented in Art as performing solemn and superhuman deeds.
This may have resulted from the fixed belief of the old artists in these
angelic beings, and their deep reverence for them, while modern artists
are simply seeking a graceful and poetic subject. But, be this as it
may, the angels who perform miracles to prevent the torture of Christian
martyrs and other superhuman acts, are as essentially guardian angels as
are those bending over cradles and gathering blossoms for children in
the fields.
After the guardians, the choristers, or musical angels, most appeal to
us. They are beautiful in their representations, and fulfil an ideal
mission. Their hymns of praise are not all devoted to the pure worship
of the Almighty,--except as he is all and in all,--since they rejoice
and sing when blessings are conferred upon mankind.
How exquisite is the story in the second chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel,
when the single angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds,
“and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men.’” In the final sentences of this heavenly
chant we have the assurance that angels delight to sing of happiness to
mankind.
There is much that appeals to our imagination in the thought of these
heavenly musicians. We fancy their perfect instruments attuned to
perfect voices, creating such harmonies as no earthly orchestra can
reproduce.
“The harp, the solemn pipe
And dulcimer, all organs of sweet stop.”
[Illustration: PERUGINO.--MUSICAL ANGELS.]
In the early days of Christian Art, painters and sculptors alike
delighted in the representation of musical angels, and it is surprising
to find in how many scenes they are not only appropriate but
indispensable. Our illustration, after Perugino, is from his picture of
the Assumption of the Virgin in the Florentine Academy.
They are most fittingly present at the coronations of Jesus and the
Virgin; they gladly welcomed the just to heaven; they join in the hymn
of St. Cecilia, which they must have inspired; they are always in
harmony with pictures of the Madonna and child, and, in short, numerous
as are the representations of them, they are never too many.
It would seem that certain sculptors and painters must have seen these
blessed beings in visions, and listened to their music, so wonderfully
did they embody them in statues and on canvas. Della Robbia, Ghiberti,
Fra Angelico, Ghirlandajo, Melozzo da Forli, Vivarini, Gian Bellini,
Raphael, Palma, must all have seen, at least with the eyes of the
spirit, the angelic choirs which make so precious a part of their legacy
to us.
The difference in the sentiments with which these angelic choristers
seem to be inspired lends them a peculiar charm. Now they are alone
intent on solemnly praising God; again they seem full of such
overflowing joy as can only be expressed in vocal harmonies, in
symphonies with viol, pipe, harp, and lute. Nowhere are these angels
more lovely than when, with their sweet faces turned to the Infant
Jesus, they chant their love for him.
Cherubim and seraphim are technically the adoring angels, as they are
represented in pictures of God, the Father. But adoring angels are
frequently seen in pictures of the Madonna and Child, as well as in
scenes from the lives of Jesus and the Virgin. Sometimes they appear in
great numbers, as in Angelico’s picture of the Last Judgment; or in
smaller groups, as the three adoring angels by Francesco Granacci; or
singly, as in the case of the angel with bowed head, who stands behind
the Virgin in the Madonna and Angels, by Boticelli; the last three
pictures being among our illustrations.
Mourning angels appear more frequently in sculpture than in painting,
and are much used as monuments to the dead; but there are pictures in
which angels show their sympathy with sorrow and suffering. While from
their nature they cannot be unhappy, they are not represented as joyful
in pictures of the Crucifixion and other sorrowful scenes in the lives
of Jesus, the Virgin, or saintly martyrs. They hide their faces, wring
their hands, and manifest their sympathetic grief in various ways. I
recall a picture of a mourning angel kneeling before a crown of thorns
with tears upon his face.
There are occasional pictures of kneeling angels, who have the
appearance of praying. Artists have naturally manifested their
individuality in their works, but I do not recall any Scripture warrant
for representing angels as themselves praying, although they are present
with mortals who pray. It is, however, not inconsistent with their
mission to bear the prayers of mortals to the throne of God and to
return with a blessing.
In the early centuries of the Church there was a well-established belief
that wicked spirits had power over men and tempted them to all manner of
sins; they especially desired, it was taught, to lead
[Illustration: FRANCESCO GRANACCI.--ANGELS IN ADORATION.]
the pious to revolt against the true religion, and to become idolaters,
as they had themselves revolted against the Almighty. It was also
believed that good and evil spirits constantly contended over every
human being, the struggle between angels and demons being unending.
Devils are introduced in many pictures, and are easily recognized by
their demoniacal appearance. Frequently they are very small and
numerous. They are represented as hovering above death-beds, they
rejoice in the persecution of the martyrs, and wherever seen, are the
very personification of all that is repulsive and loathsome.
The most important pictures in which the devil is represented as a human
being are scenes in the temptation of Jesus, when he was led into the
wilderness to be tempted forty days. Shakespeare says that “the devil
hath power to assume a pleasing shape,” but apparently artists have not
recognized this. In their pictures of him there is always some
characteristic which at once discloses his personality. His skin is an
ugly brown, or the hoofs which he endeavors to hide are disclosed, or
the repulsive expression of his face warns one of his dangerous
character.
Happily such pictures are not numerous, but an ideal of the
repulsiveness of the Father of Lies has been conceived by many from the
famous representations of him by Raphael and Guido, in their pictures of
his conquest by St. Michael. In numerous cases, however, the presence of
Satan is indicated by symbols. The dragon and the serpent are the
usually accepted emblems of the Evil Spirit, but there are many
variations of this symbolism. A horrid dragon head with open mouth
typifies hell. Frequently the serpent has an apple in his mouth and
thus personates the wily tempter of Mother Eve; but in many cases the
serpent has no relation to the fall of man, and is personified evil.