Current exhibition

God’s messengers.
Narratives and images of angels and archangels.

We encounter them at numerous points in Holy Scripture, these mysterious, heavenly servants whom we call angels and who, so we are told, are often dispatched by God with a particular message for a particular individual. Three of these, the only ones to bear actual names (Michael, Gabriel and Raphael), are known as archangels.

Artists have always chosen to depict angels with wings and usually clad in ankle-length gowns. The medieval book illuminators did not draw their angels as chubby-cheeked, cheerful child-like figures (as was the usual practice in later periods) but as dignified, authoritative and awe-inspiring adult males; these artists were well aware of the power and significance of these “mighty spirits” and were at pains to represent these characteristics as unambiguously as possible.

There is a very good reason why we have chosen to entitle this exhibition of narratives and images of angels “God’s messengers”: all these figures are depicted and described as being in transit, commissioned to deliver otherworldly communications. On consideration of the texts and images, it becomes apparent that the nature of angels is best expressed through the name with which we denote these individuals – ‘angel’. The word ‘angel’ is derived from the Greek ‘angelos’, which means simply a messenger or an envoy.

In his historical theological reflections, St. Augustine of Hippo expressed this special link between heaven and earth, angels and humans as follows: “The heavenly part of the church is vested in the holy angels in eternal bliss; as is only right and proper, this comes to the aid of the other part that yet wanders upon the earth.”



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