Do you like an Angel? Let's have a look at angels.
Angel is one of the most popular figures in the world. Many artists created angel paintings and sculptures, often seen in the churches, museums, art galleries, palaces or even the grand apartment of Louis XIV:
Angel could be male or female. Male angels are also popular, especially on ceiling paintings in Wiener Staatoper (Vienna Opera):
The most common angels on the paintings, either on the ceiling in the churches or on the buildings is called "Madonna and child with two angels":
Image: Travelers on a journey to the holy place in the early morning, Bad Tölz 2006.
A type of cake called "Angel cake" comes from the texture of the cake which is light and fluffy. It is the similar to a type of sponge cakes, originated in USA. The cake contains white eggs, cream and flour, usually is baked in a special form, so called in German "Gugelhupf/Gugelhopf":
As people use this form "Bundt" to bake a cake, so it is also called "Bundt cake."
In general, it should look like this:
In French is called "Kouglof" :
From top view, it looks like flower and it can be added with other ingredients and flavors:
Mini pocket variations with almond and chocolate:
There are many kinds of food that are made in angel figures. An interesting design of a chocolate praline, called "Angel Praline" :
A chocolate ball with golden wings, sadly the wings are not edible. If the angel would eat pralines everyday, the figure would turn to " L'Ange protecteur" = Guarding Angel/Schutzengel, created by the French artist, Niki de saint phalle. It is a mix of angel and aquarius= the water bearer which represents the god "Enki" in Sumerian and "Ea" in Babylonian mythology. The stream of water flowing means "feathers and forests" in Chinese astronomy.
Comparing to a stone statue of "Guarding Engel" near the monastery in Murbach, France:
Angel is a spiritual being who possess purity and beauty as well as more power and intelligence than humans, known as guadian spirit. At the beginning of the Christian concept, Angel is "Messenger of God". Fame (Roman)or Pheme(Greek mythology), is regarded as rumor or gossip goddess holding a trumpet and a laurel crown:
Image: Jesuitenkirche, Lucern, Switzerland. It is clearly seen as a messenger of God in any church. Many angels and other winged figures are often painted at the roof or ceiling of the churches as well.
Image of the hall of mirros, Paris.
Later, there are more angelic messengers that are listed in the Jewish Angelology: Gabriel (Acts of justice and power), Michael (Kindness of God), Raphael (God's healing force), and Uriel (Leading to destiny). It could be the opposite side of white angels like the Angel of Death, Samael (Venom of God), Malach HaMavet in Hebrew Bible is known as "The Destroyer". It probably looks like "the Grim Reaper" In England as a skeleton carrying a large scythe and wearing a black cloak with a hood or a beautiful skeleton with a piece of cloth acting like holding a torch of life, but there is none, no torch = no life:
Image taken in the Louvre museum: Death from Saint Innocents Cemetery – Île-de-France, around 1530. Many skeletons are found in this cemetery and moved to exhibit at Catacombs in Montparnasse.
Even a food item, a poisonous white mushroom could be called "Angel of death". It seems to be very dangerous because after consuming, it destroys internal organs and died due to liver failure within 2 weeks at maximum. Maybe this item could use for medicine purpose. Who knows? When people die, the ceremony begins in the church. No matter what important events in life happen, they go to the church.(birth or death, marriage). Although, in the old times, priests cured sicknesses and churches were like hospitals. Is that the reason why angel sculptures obviously seen from a far distance? More or less likely to stand at the top of the buildings or churches:
Image: Santa Maria Immacolata delle Grazie in Bergamo lower city, Italy
Interestingly, when the angel sculpture stands on the column, it turns to be a symbol of peace:
The Angel of Peace in Maximillian Park, Munich or "Friedensdenmal", 1896 by Heinrich Düll, Georg Pezold and Max Heilmaier as a reminder of the 25 peaceful years after the Franco-German war in 1870-71. This image was taken from a mobile phone in 2005, Graffiti was on the Angel column (someone did not want to have peace or just practicing his Graffiti art), Graffiti was removed later on.
Another sculpture called "El Ángel" or Angel of Independence in Mexico, built in 1910. It is a monument of independence or victory column that is found in many western countries as well:
Image: The July column by Auguste Dumont is to commemorate the French revolution in 1830, located at the roundabout or the center of Place de la Bastille, Paris. It is the spirit of freedom holding a torch of civilization and broken chains and has a star crown.
This resembles Goddess of Victory or Niki. One of the most beautiful female figure with wings, Nike of Samothrace:
It becomes a fragment once some parts of sculpture or the hands are missing, although the missing parts make it look marvellous.
The sculpture of Nike in front of Versaille holding laurel crown (bay leaf), without trumpet shows the full image of goddess of victory when nothing is broken. Nike = Victory-Victoria in Roman Goddess.
As the Victory/Victoria appears on the Quadriga (chariot= a carriage drawn by 4 horses which was used in racing), it was an emblem of triumph and occurs in Roman coins. Later, it adapted to Angel figure in the churches. Some Quadrigas are driven by Apollo(Greek God), Athena ((Greek Goddess) or Charioteer (hero-heroine human), therefore no wings are seen:
A lot of people confuse an angel with a cupid, sometimes cupid depicts as a young boy with wings in paintings and sculptures:
The image in the Louvre museum: Cupid and Psyche by François Gérard in 1798.
Cupid (Eros) in the classical Greek Mythology is a son of Venus and Mars. He carries a bow to make living things being in love. His mother(Venus) ordered him to make the most beautiful daughter of a King from an unknown land to fall in love with a monster. He disobeyed and pointed himself with his arrow. As a result, he fell in love with Psyche.
If a young boy with wings carring a sword instead of arrows or holding a butterfly (symbol of soul) and reversed torch (light = life, when light is extinguished, life is gone) in Greek mythology is called Thanatos or the Death. As he does not need to have a creepy look because he just leads the dead people to the underworld. Many religions refer to heaven and hell, god and devil. One who struggles or has doubt about god would have to fight with angel:
Post-impressionism painting: Vision after the Sermon or Jacob wrestling with the angel by Paul Gaugin in 1888. Most angels created by artists have golden wings. Why? The color of gold makes it holy?
There is a holy (expensive) place or a village on hills called "Engelberg" where the name of Angel plays an important role as many abstract angel sculptures are made to attract the tourists to come and visit:
Please read the article: "In the Arm of Angels", if you wish to go to the place where the angel live. Thank you.
