Editing Angels in art (section)

===In the early Church===
Specific ideas regarding how to portray angels began to develop in the early Church. Since angels are defined as pure spirits,<ref name=gorgievski>[https://books.google.com/books?id=fYareuHCAu0C&pg=PA1 Gorgievski, Sandra. ''Face to Face with Angels: Images in Medieval Art and in Film''], McFarland (2010) {{ISBN|9780786457564}}</ref><ref name=longhurst>[https://archive.today/20131227212425/http://www.academia.edu/1908542/The_Science_of_Angelology_in_the_Modern_World_-_The_Revival_of_Angels_in_Contemporary_Culture Longhurst S.T.D., Christopher Evan. "The Science of Angelology in the Modern World: The Revival of Angels in Contemporary Culture", ''The Catholic Response''], Volume IX, No. 2, September/October 2012 (pp. 32–36) {{ISSN|1553-0221}}</ref> the lack of a defined form has allowed artists wide latitude for creativity.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://news.sky.com/story/1185507/angels-exist-but-have-no-wings-says-church| title = 'Angels Exist But Have No Wings, Says Church', ''Skye News'', 20 December 2013}}</ref> Daniel 8:15 describes [[Gabriel]] as appearing in the "likeness of man" and in Daniel 9:21 he is referred to as "the man Gabriel." Such anthropomorphic descriptions of an angel are consistent with previous descriptions of angels, as in Genesis 19:5.<ref name=everson>[http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/gabriel357902.shtml Everson, David. "Gabriel Blow Your Horn! – A Short History of Gabriel within Jewish Literature", Xavier University, December 2009] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428164859/http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/gabriel357902.shtml |date=28 April 2014 }}</ref> They were usually depicted in the form of young men.<ref name=marshall>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UvZNzngArGQC&pg=PA1 Marshall, Peter and Walsham, Alexandra (editors). ''Angels in the Early Modern World''], p. 5, Cambridge University Press (2006), {{ISBN|9780521843324}}</ref>

The earliest known Christian image of an angel, in the ''Cubicolo dell'Annunziazione'' in the [[Catacomb of Priscilla]], which is dated to the middle of the third century, is a depiction of the Annunciation in which Gabriel is portrayed without wings. Representations of angels on [[sarcophagi]] and on objects such as lamps and [[reliquaries]] of that period also show them without wings,<ref>Proverbio(2007), pp. 81–89; cf. review in ''[[La Civiltà Cattolica]]'', 3795–3796 (2–16 August 2008), pp. 327–328.</ref> as for example the angel in the ''[[Sacrifice of Isaac]]'' scene in the [[Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus]].

In a third-century fresco of the Hebrew children in the furnace, in the cemetery of St. Priscilla, a dove takes the place of the angel, while a fourth-century representation of the same subject, in the coemeterium maius, substitutes the [[Hand of God (art)|Hand of God]] for the heavenly messenger.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01485a.htm| title = Hassett, Maurice. 'Early Christian Representations of Angels.' The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 25 Dec. 2013}}</ref>

The earliest known representation of angels with wings is on what is called the Prince's Sarcophagus, discovered at Sarigüzel, near [[Istanbul]], in the 1930s, and attributed to the time of [[Theodosius I]] (379–395).<ref>Proverbio(2007) p. 66</ref> Flying winged angels, very often in pairs flanking a central figure or subject, are derivations in visual terms from pairs of [[Victoria (mythology)|winged Victories]] in classical art.<ref name=marshall/>

In this same period, Saint [[John Chrysostom]] explained the significance of angels' wings: "They manifest a nature's sublimity. That is why Gabriel is represented with wings. Not that angels have wings, but that you may know that they leave the heights and the most elevated dwelling to approach human nature. Accordingly, the wings attributed to these powers have no other meaning than to indicate the sublimity of their nature."<ref>Proverbio (2007) p. 34</ref>

From then on Christian art generally represented angels with wings, as in the cycle of mosaics in the [[Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore]] (432–440).<ref>Proverbio (2007), pp. 90–95; cf. review in ''[[La Civiltà Cattolica]]'', 3795–3796 (2–16 August 2008), pp. 327–328.</ref> Multi-winged angels, often with only their face and wings showing, drawn from the higher grades of angels, especially [[cherubim]] and [[seraphim]], are derived from Persian art,{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} and are usually shown only in heavenly contexts, as opposed to performing tasks on Earth. They often appear in the [[pendentive]]s of [[dome]]s or [[semi-dome]]s of churches.