Angels have been cherished and depicted by a vast number of artists for three millennia and their roles, iconography, and stories were once familiar to most people. Today, few recognize the seven archangels or have knowledge of the hierarchy of angels and their supernatural powers. This book enables readers to understand the stories and symbols of angels through the centuries.
This portable identification guide presents fifty-five iconic artworks featuring angels, and identifies in close-up details the iconography of each angel or the key symbols associated with an angelic story. Grouped by type of angel, each painting, sculpture, or stained-glass window is paired with a concise text explaining the story pictured, or the significance of the angel featured, and at-a- glance listings revealing the provenance and role of the angel in Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and folk beliefs. Many images in this book can be viewed in situ in churches, galleries, or museums around the world.
Alongside named angels, such as Michael and Raphael, A Field Guide to Angels presents unnamed angels according to their primary role, for example, messenger, warrior, or guardian angels. It groups images featuring such angels by role and explains, in concise text and with attention to detail, the particular events depicted in each image. At the close is a city-by- city listing of key artworks featuring angels that are open to the public.
Contributors
David Goodman
Author
David Goodman has appeared numerous times on BBC Radio Scotland: he frequently contributes to “Thought for the Day” on Good Morning Scotland and appears regularly on Sunday Morning. He wrote and presented Story of Angels, a series for the BBC World Service. He studied Assyriology, Hebrew, and Ethiopic at the University of Manchester and obtained a doctorate from Oxford University’s Oriental Institute on the subject of tradition development concerning angels in early Judeo-Christian writings.
