The Angel: Illusion or Revelation?

There is something that both attracts and profoundly unsettles us in these winged figures. Where the human meets the sacred, the angel appears, suspended in an undefined dimension between heaven and earth. A multifaceted and mysterious figure, the angel embodies meanings that oscillate between the sacred and the profane, between devotion and rebellion. But why does art—from medieval painting to street art—continue to depict it? The answer might lie in the fact that an angel is never merely an angel; rather, it serves as a mirror through which we observe our deepest desires, our fears, and our perennial need to make sense of the world.
Undoubtedly, the angel remains a subject that continues to wield a timeless evocative power—a complex metaphor open to multiple interpretations.

Dettaglio di un Angelo dipinto su tela con colori pastello dell'artista Alessandro Casale — Group of Angels, 2009 – Alessandro Casale, Enlargement

The Symbol of Faith and Protection

In early Christian and medieval art, angels appear as divine messengers, their human form enriched with wings to suggest their transcendent nature. Although the Holy Scriptures do not explicitly describe them with this attribute, medieval artists added wings to emphasize their ability to cross the boundary between heaven and earth. They appeared in key representations, such as the Annunciation, symbolizing divine intervention in history and their role as intermediaries between God and humanity.
In an era marked by uncertainty and the fear of sin, angels represented security and order. Depicted with hieratic expressions and golden wings, they embodied faith as a guarantee and a comfort, reassuring people through their solemn, austere, and distant image.

Raffigurato come un guerriero divino e imponente, l’arcangelo Michele è un esempio della solenne rappresentazione degli angeli nell’arte bizantina e medievale. Le ali dorate e la postura ieratica trasmettono un senso di sacralità e protezione, tipico della raffigurazione medievale degli angeli. — Archangel Michael – Mosaic from the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare, Ravenna, 6th Century

Renaissance: The Beauty of Human Spirituality

With the Renaissance, the human body was rediscovered and celebrated even in sacred art, transforming the angelic figure into a symbol of beauty and grace. Angels with harmonious forms and serene gazes, the work of artists such as Botticelli, Raphael, and Michelangelo, represented an aesthetic ideal that was both close to the divine and accessible to the human observer. In this period, “putti”—small, chubby angels—make their appearance, infusing sacred scenes with a sense of lightness and embodying a notion of faith that is closer, sweeter, and more familiar. The angel becomes a guide, inviting one to a more intimate spiritual experience without the reverential distance typical of the Middle Ages.

Botticelli ritrae un gruppo di angeli delicati e dall’aspetto umano, che sorreggono una corona sopra la Vergine e il Bambino. Gli angeli incarnano la bellezza rinascimentale, con volti sereni e lineamenti armoniosi, in sintonia con l’ideale di spiritualità e bellezza umana del Rinascimento. — Madonna of the Magnificat – Sandro Botticelli, 1481

Baroque: The Angel between Drama and Passion

During the Baroque period, angels assume a dramatic and passionate presence. Artists such as Caravaggio, Bernini, and Rubens depict them immersed in dynamic compositions, emphasizing intense emotions and theatrical gestures. The angelic figures become symbols of justice and sacrifice, often portrayed in heroic and combative poses that bring them closer to the image of a warrior.
Baroque art explores the passionate side of faith: angels are portrayed as creatures that suffer, protect, and fight, reflecting a humanity in which spirituality intertwines with sacrifice and moral challenge. In this period, the angel is not merely a messenger of peace but becomes a representation of the inner struggle between good and evil.

In questa celebre scultura, l’angelo appare mentre trafigge il cuore di Santa Teresa con un dardo dorato. L’opera è caratterizzata da un’intensa teatralità e drammaticità, e l’angelo esprime forti emozioni, incarnando la passione e il pathos tipici del Barocco. — Ecstasy of Saint Teresa – Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1647–1652

Romanticism and Symbolism: The Angel of the Soul

In Romanticism, the angel transforms into an introspective figure—a symbol of the restless soul and of profound existential questions. Artists such as William Blake and Caspar David Friedrich depict melancholic angels, reflecting a desire for transcendence and a personal spiritual quest, thus making the angel a symbol of human emotions, an embodiment of individual aspirations and inquietudes.
With Symbolism, the angelic figure becomes even more enigmatic, embodying the mystery of life and death. Artists such as Odilon Redon and Gustav Moreau portray angels that express the allure of the unconscious, dreamlike figures that seem to emerge from parallel worlds, symbols of the infinite and the unknown. These angels do not reassure but rather confront the observer, eliciting metaphysical questions about human nature and destiny.

L’angelo è rappresentato in uno stato visionario e onirico, quasi spettrale, che simboleggia l’inquietudine spirituale e il desiderio di trascendenza tipico del Romanticismo. Le figure degli angeli, sfuggenti e malinconiche, riflettono l’approccio personale e introspettivo di Blake alla religiosità. — Jacob’s Ladder – William Blake, 1799–1806

Cabanel dipinge un angelo malinconico e triste, con uno sguardo lontano e sconfitto. Questa rappresentazione dell’angelo caduto incarna il tormento interiore e l’enigmatico mistero della vita e della morte, temi cari al Simbolismo. — Fallen Angel – Alexandre Cabanel, 1868

Contemporary Art: Fragile and Conceptual Angels

In contemporary art, the angelic figure further fragments, assuming new and unexpected forms. Artists such as Marc Chagall depict melancholic angels, suspended between heaven and earth, as symbols of a humanity seeking light even as it remains immersed in its own fragility.
Other artists, such as Kiki Smith and Anselm Kiefer, explore the idea of decaying and wounded angels—creatures set in degraded urban contexts and immersed in atmospheres of disillusionment. For instance, Kiefer’s angels reflect a shattered spirituality, symbolizing human vulnerability in a complex and fragmented reality, expressing the precariousness and sense of disorientation typical of contemporary society.

Kiefer rappresenta gli angeli come figure decadenti e ferite, immerse in paesaggi cupi e frammentati. Le sue opere riflettono una spiritualità moderna spezzata e la vulnerabilità umana, reinterpretando la figura angelica come simbolo di una condizione esistenziale fragile e precaria. — The Fall of the Angels – Anselm Kiefer (1983–1995)

In this contemporary scenario, Alessandro Casale emerges, blending the earthly dimension with a suspended and rarefied spirituality. Ethereal and almost dreamlike, his angels are beings that transcend matter and manifest in color, becoming “radiant epiphanies”—images that fade and merge with his atmospheric settings as if they were emanations of a cosmic breath.
Casale’s angels become metaphors for an essential quest, symbolic images immersed in profound silence, evoking a “religious spirituality” that seems to emerge from a world beyond the visible. Even today, the angel speaks of an inner dimension, inviting us to look beyond the surface, and ultimately reminding us of our eternal aspiration toward something greater than ourselves.

Group of Angels – Alessandro Casale, 1999

Essential Bibliography
Ernst H. Gombrich, The Story of Art, Phaidon, 2008
Andrew Graham Dixon, Art: The Definitive Visual Guide, DK, 2023
Émile Mâle, Religious Art at the End of the Middle Ages in France, Studium, 2024
Rudolf Wittkower, Art and Architecture in Italy (1600–1750), Einaudi, 1995