From the famous cherubs of Raphael to the angels of Chagall,

artists have imagined and depicted angels in unique ways

throughout history....

Art in Detail

Famous Paintings of Angels

RAFFAELLO SanzioThe Sistine Madonna1513-14Oil on canvas, 270 x 201 cmGemäldegalerie, Dresden

RAFFAELLO SanzioThe Sistine Madonna (detail)1513-14Oil on canvasGemäldegalerie, Dresden

RAFFAELLO SanzioThe Sistine Madonna (detail)1513-14Oil on canvasGemäldegalerie, Dresden

RAFFAELLO SanzioThe Sistine Madonna (detail)1513-14Oil on canvasGemäldegalerie, Dresden

RAFFAELLO SanzioThe Sistine Madonna (detail)1513-14Oil on canvasGemäldegalerie, Dresden

RAFFAELLO SanzioThe Sistine Madonna (detail)1513-14Oil on canvasGemäldegalerie, Dresden

BRUEGEL, Pieter the ElderThe Fall of the Rebel Angels1562Oil on oak, 117 x 162 cmMusées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

BRUEGEL, Pieter the ElderThe Fall of the Rebel Angels (detail)1562Oil on oakMusées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

BRUEGEL, Pieter the ElderThe Fall of the Rebel Angels (detail)1562Oil on oakMusées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

BRUEGEL, Pieter the ElderThe Fall of the Rebel Angels (detail)1562Oil on oakMusées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

BRUEGEL, Pieter the ElderThe Fall of the Rebel Angels (detail)1562Oil on oakMusées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

BRUEGEL, Pieter the ElderThe Fall of the Rebel Angels (detail)1562Oil on oakMusées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

BRUEGEL, Pieter the ElderThe Fall of the Rebel Angels (detail)1562Oil on oakMusées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

GIOTTO di BondoneOgnissanti Madonna (Madonna in Maestà)1306 - 1310 Tempera on wood, 325 x 204 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GIOTTO di BondoneOgnissanti Madonna (Madonna in Maestà) (detail)1306 - 1310 Tempera on wood, 325 x 204 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GIOTTO di BondoneOgnissanti Madonna (Madonna in Maestà) (detail)1306 - 1310 Tempera on wood, 325 x 204 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GIOTTO di BondoneOgnissanti Madonna (Madonna in Maestà) (detail)1306 - 1310 Tempera on wood, 325 x 204 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GIOTTO di BondoneOgnissanti Madonna (Madonna in Maestà) (detail)1306 - 1310 Tempera on wood, 325 x 204 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GIOTTO di BondoneOgnissanti Madonna (Madonna in Maestà) (detail)1306 - 1310 Tempera on wood, 325 x 204 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

LEONARDO da VinciAnnunciation1472-75Tempera on wood, 98 x 217 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

LEONARDO da VinciAnnunciation (detail)1472-75Tempera on wood, 98 x 217 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

LEONARDO da VinciAnnunciation (detail)1472-75Tempera on wood, 98 x 217 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

LEONARDO da VinciAnnunciation (detail)1472-75Tempera on wood, 98 x 217 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

LEONARDO da VinciAnnunciation (detail)1472-75Tempera on wood, 98 x 217 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GOES, Hugo van derThe Adoration of the Shepherds1476-79Oil on wood, 253 x 304 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GOES, Hugo van derThe Adoration of the Shepherds (detail)1476-79Oil on wood, 253 x 304 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GOES, Hugo van derThe Adoration of the Shepherds (detail)1476-79Oil on wood, 253 x 304 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GOES, Hugo van derThe Adoration of the Shepherds (detail)1476-79Oil on wood, 253 x 304 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GOES, Hugo van derThe Adoration of the Shepherds (detail)1476-79Oil on wood, 253 x 304 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GOES, Hugo van derThe Adoration of the Shepherds (detail)1476-79Oil on wood, 253 x 304 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

GOES, Hugo van derThe Adoration of the Shepherds (detail)1476-79Oil on wood, 253 x 304 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

CARAVAGGIORest on Flight to Egypt1596-97Oil on canvas, 133,5 x 166,5 cmGalleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

CARAVAGGIORest on Flight to Egypt (detail)1596-97Oil on canvas, 133,5 x 166,5 cmGalleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

CARAVAGGIORest on Flight to Egypt (detail)1596-97Oil on canvas, 133,5 x 166,5 cmGalleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

CARAVAGGIORest on Flight to Egypt (detail)1596-97Oil on canvas, 133,5 x 166,5 cmGalleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome

CHAGALL , MarcJacob’s Dream1966 Oil on canvas, 195 x 278 cm Musée national Message Biblique Marc Chagall, Nice

CHAGALL , MarcJacob’s Dream (detail)1966 Oil on canvas, 195 x 278 cm Musée national Message Biblique Marc Chagall, Nice

CHAGALL , MarcJacob’s Dream (detail)1966 Oil on canvas, 195 x 278 cm Musée national Message Biblique Marc Chagall, Nice

CHAGALL , MarcJacob’s Dream (detail)1966 Oil on canvas, 195 x 278 cm Musée national Message Biblique Marc Chagall, Nice

CHAGALL , MarcJacob’s Dream (detail)1966 Oil on canvas, 195 x 278 cm Musée national Message Biblique Marc Chagall, Nice

CHAGALL , MarcJacob’s Dream (detail)1966 Oil on canvas, 195 x 278 cm Musée national Message Biblique Marc Chagall, Nice

Art in Detail: Famous Paintings of Angels

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CHAGALL , MarcJacob’s Dream

Jacob’s ladder is the connection between the earth and the heavens that must be climbed in order to reach salvation, but angels and demons both fight over the ascenders, trying to drag them in either direction.

Chagall’s interpretation shows joyful acrobatic angels circling the steps from as seen in a dream that he had.

The four-winged angel is a type known as a Seraphim who is amongst the highest ranked angels – here he illuminates the composition by bringing a divine light that brightens the night-time setting of the energetic vision of the struggle between good and evil.

RAFFAELLO SanzioThe Sistine Madonna

The most famous angels of our days seem to be the two winged putti below Raphael's Sistine Madonna. They are almost half a millennium old.

Their continuing success and present popularity are hard to explain. They combine the sacred with the profane, childish mischievousness with high art. They are easily reproducible and media-friendly. And they have in turn inspired similar angel pairs.

BRUEGEL, Pieter the ElderThe Fall of the Rebel Angels

The Archangel Michael, portrayed in golden-brown armour in the middle of the picture, is driving the angels who have rebelled against God out of Heaven.

The angels in white garments are fighting on his side, while those who have broken away from God are metamorphosing into the mostly naked bodies of fantastic figures.

GIOTTO di BondoneOgnissanti Madonna (Madonna in Maestà

An angel kneels at either side of the step, left and right. In one hand hold a vase containing a lily and red and white roses, the symbols of Mary's grief and of her purity.

It’s astonishing that Giotto has lavished so much care on the beautiful faces of the angels. Every strand of curling hair, every shadow on the face, shows Giott’s comsummate skill.

CARAVAGGIORest on Flight to Egypt

What a daredevil Caravaggio was. You can see why he shocked people. The Christian churches in Europe were at the zenith of their power, but Caravaggio painted a Madonna dressed in red (the colour associated with loose-living women) and slumped over in exhausted sleep (the Madonna was usually serene and goddess-like, needing no food or sleep).

And what about Caravaggio’s Joseph, patiently holding sheets of music for a violin-playing angel? Where did that come from? Or an angel with the grey-black and slightly sinister wings of an eagle? But what an angel! Its gold-hued flesh and the loose cloth tied around its body are radiant with glowing light.

The sheen of its wings catches the dying light. This really is a heavenly creature.

LEONARDO da VinciAnnunciation

The Angel Gabriel in this painting of the Annunciation is so beautiful, so commanding even though assuming a respectful position, that the figure of Mary is almost secondary. Somehow da Vinci is able to convince the viewer that this is the way it should be, and is, since Gabriel is a messenger from God and therefore in a sense represents God.

Respectful and bowing, yes, but also dominating.

GOES, Hugo van derThe Adoration of the Shepherds

This was painted during the middle years of the 15th century, when the rules of perspective were imperfectly understood; the panel seems to be painted in three parts and united by the addition of details such as the worshipping angels in the foreground, and the flying angels near the top.

Notice that most of the angels, if not all, are dressed in ecclesiastical robes of one sort or another. What message are we supposed to get from this detail?