Angel statues: overview, history and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

The image of angels, whose purpose is to serve God and fight his enemies, is often used in art. Symbols of light and the world invisible to the eye adorn palaces, parks, temples, small figurines of cute figurines with wings can also be seen in houses. Charms that protect a person have strong energy, and according to the teachings of Feng Shui, angels give their owners strength and inspiration.

Messengers of God

Images on the icons of intermediaries between the Lord and people acquire a religious meaning, and in Christian cemeteries, statues of angels are installed in memory of departed relatives and tell about sorrow and love. To some extent, they carry a ritual meaning and are identified with the dead.

Historically, winged creatures are made of marble, a noble stone with excellent durability. Most often, angels have a snow-white color, symbolizing purity, but there are sculptures in other shades.

Grim Angel in Iowa City Cemetery

Angel statues in cemeteries are considered classics of ritual art. Guardians guarding the gravesfreeze with outstretched wings, as if rushing to heaven. And in Iowa City (USA), a frightening statue crowns a family grave in a cemetery, around which many chilling legends go. In 1913, after the death of her son and husband, T. D. Feldjevert commissioned an unusual sculpture that stood out from other monuments of the necropolis.

Her powerful wings are not spread, and the black angel (statue) is looking at the ground. The gloomy expression on the face and cold eyes cause the only desire in visitors - to get out of here as soon as possible. According to legend, the ashes of a heartbroken woman were reunited with her relatives, and at the funeral, lightning suddenly struck the sculpture, after which the light statue turned black. Local residents believe that this happened for a reason, and accuse the deceased of killing her son and husband. Allegedly, she was so punished for terrible sins. It is believed that the spirit of the criminal moved into the sculpture and everyone who touches her dies not by her own death.

This is the most popular spot in the cemetery, and students often come here at night to test their mettle.

Reims smile

If the gloomy messenger of God brought incredible popularity to a small cemetery in the state of Iowa, then the laughing one brought improbable popularity to Reims Cathedral. A smiling winged creature crowns the highest point of the temple, decorated with two thousand statues. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the marble statue of an angel overshadows the dignity of other sculptures on the facade of a French religious monument.

The story of creation, located on the border between the spiritual and the material, is quite tragic. During the bombing of the city in 1914, a stone masterpiece fell from a height and crashed. His remains were carefully collected by the abbot of the temple and hidden in a hiding place, and only 12 years later, after restoration, the laughing angel returned to its original place. It has become a symbol of the country's cultural heritage, destroyed by the German barbarians. The Reims smile represents God's grace, and the cold marble seems to radiate warmth.

Mischievous boy on the roof

If we talk about Russia, then St. Petersburg breaks all records in the number of God's messengers protecting their beloved city from misfortunes. The statues of angels attract the eyes of tourists, and each statue has its own story. One of the most unusual guardians settled in 2007 on the roof of the Lithuanian consulate, and this is a very cheerful angel, unfortunately, still inferior in popularity to Reims.

A funny naughty fellow with his legs hanging down invites you to visit Vilnius. The sculptor claims that he created a boy with black heels in the image of a real child. The sweet angel clings tightly to the roof, and the strong winds and torrential rains of the glorious city on the Neva do not matter to him. It is said that sometimes the boy winks, and those who see it will have good news.

Steel Messenger of Heaven

Modern angel statues often surprise with their architectural design, and the 20-meter sculpture that appeared in Gateshead, England, is proof of this. This is a unique messenger of heaven,whose wings are borrowed from a real Boeing.

The 200-ton "Angel of the North", slightly tilted forward, as if preparing to soar into the sky, was installed in 2008 and initially caused a negative reaction from local residents. However, today the steel monument, located in the open air, is considered the main attraction of northern Britain. True, many tourists who got acquainted with the work of the sculptor Gormley compared the creation with a powerful cyborg.

Crying bronze angel

The grief that befell relatives who lost a loved one is personified by the sculptures of weeping angels installed on the graves. Grieving biblical characters eloquently express the feelings of people who have lost loved ones. However, there are statues that cry not at all by the will of their creator, and this is exactly the unusual bronze statue installed in a cemetery in Cleveland (USA).

The weeping angel of death, who holds an inverted torch in his hands, personifying life, produces an eerie spectacle for visitors. The figure guarding the grave is terrifying because the traces of metal oxidation, clearly visible on empty eye sockets, resemble bloody tears. The sculpture, symbolizing a bygone life, placed on the grave of F. Heatheroth, seems real and evokes many emotions.

Animated statues

Recently, the so-called living sculptures, with which you can take pictures, are gaining popularity. For the first time this art direction appeared in Barcelona in the 70s.last century. Actors took to the streets, portraying characters from Greek and Roman mythology with the help of makeup, costumes, pantomime.

Now serves as a real decoration for various presentations, holidays, corporate parties, an invited living statue. An angel, a historical or fantastic character, frozen in a certain pose, immediately catches the eye and arouses genuine interest among visitors of all ages.

Sculptors did not even suspect that a new art form would appear, and living sculptures would accurately convey the image created many centuries ago.