MINISTERING AND GUARDIAN ANGELS
The angels that sang the Gloria in Excelsis, or knelt near at hand at the birth of Christ, were usually larger than the putti, girlish in form, and very beautiful of face. They were dressed sometimes in colors, as with Correggio (kor-red´-jo); sometimes in gold brocades of gorgeous pattern, as with the Vivarini (vee-vahr-ee´-nee); sometimes in white and blue, as with Piero della Françesca (frahn-ches´-kah). Again, they frequently had jeweled crowns or embossed halos or peacock-eyed wings. It was the idea of the old masters to make them decoratively beautiful as well as representative of purity and truth. And they carried out this idea still further in the faces, which were always of the most lovely types they could find or imagine. To us today these angel faces are perhaps the most attractive feature of this early church art of Italy.
CORREGGIO; ANGEL GROUP (detail of fresco at Parma)
The same kind of angels, but clothed usually in white, appeared to the Shepherds, attended the Holy Family in their flight into Egypt, stood by the river bank at the baptism of Christ, were with Him in the wilderness, in the garden, at the crucifixion, watched by the tomb, and rolled away the stone from the door. Others of the angelic host appeared at times to warn Abraham, to present a message to Saint Joachim, to guide Saint Peter out of his prison. They were all ministering spirits, but without specific names.
FRA BARTOLOMMEO; MADONNA ENTHRONED (detail)